Mathematics Education Research Group

Mathematical learning and design of learning activities in kindergarten and primary school is about how children and pupils from grades 1-10 can explore and develop mathematical ideas through play, practical activities, movement, interaction and experiences in everyday life. The research area examines how kindergarten teachers, teachers and parents can contribute to meaningful encounters with mathematics.

The research area includes:

• Design of mathematical learning activities and children's and pupils' mathematical learning, with particular emphasis on playful, practical, bodily and physically active approaches in kindergarten and early childhood education. The research examines how mathematical ideas are explored and expressed through action, language, interaction, problem-solving and different representations, and how materials, spaces and outdoor environments can be used as resources for mathematical learning and the development of basic skills.
• The professional practice of kindergarten teachers and teachers, including how they can identify mathematical possibilities and map children's and pupils' mathematical skills in free play, guided play, practical activities and everyday situations, and follow up this through questions, guidance and facilitation for mathematical exploration.
• Parents' participation in children's mathematical experiences, with emphasis on how low-threshold activities that involve play and bodily participation, can create meeting places where children, parents and staff participate together in mathematical practices.

Projects

• Design of embodied learning tasks in mathematics for kindergarten and elementary school. Project: 2535930

Teacher education and professional development in mathematics is about how student teachers develop mathematical and mathematics didactic knowledge and are prepared for their work as mathematics teachers, as well as how teachers and teacher educators further develop their professional practice. The research includes mathematical teacher assignments, problem solving and reasoning, dialogue and cooperation, assessment, professional development and the use of digital technologies. A key question is what it means to learn to become and further develop as a mathematics teacher, and how the interaction between theory and practice can contribute to the development of mathematics education competence.

The research area includes:

• Mathematical teacher tasks and task design, with emphasis on how tasks can be designed and used to develop student teachers' mathematical reasoning, problem solving, strategy flexibility and mathematics didactic competence. Task design involves choices related to mathematical content, representations and working methods, and how tasks allow for different solution strategies and forms of mathematical activity.
• Dialogue and collaboration in mathematics, with an interest in how teacher students and teachers develop and communicate mathematical ideas through cooperation, argumentation and exploration. This includes, among other things, dialogue and collective mathematical processes in the thinking classroom, where the participants work together on problem solving and mathematical reasoning and argumentation.
• To learn how to become a mathematics teacher and the link between theory and practice, with a focus on how student teachers develop professional identity and mathematics didactic competence in the interaction between campus and practice. The research examines how students apply and further develop theoretical knowledge in specific teaching situations, and brings practical experiences back to reflection and learning in teacher education. Central to this is practice-based teacher education and core practices, where students practice key teaching practices both on campus and in practice and build bridges to their future teaching work.
• Teachers' professional development, with emphasis on how teachers develop their mathematics teaching through professional learning, testing and reflection on their own practice. The research examines, among other things, work with mathematically and cognitively demanding tasks and exploratory working methods, and how professional development can contribute to further developing teaching practice.
• Artificial intelligence and digital learning resources, including the development and exploration of AI-based simulators where student teachers can practice mathematical and mathematics didactic conversations, try out different teacher actions and reflect on how they respond to students' mathematical thinking.
• Assessment in mathematics and teacher education, with emphasis on how forms of assessment can highlight and support student teachers' mathematical and mathematics didactic competence. The research area also includes teacher educators' assessment practices, including what is assessed, how competence is interpreted and which forms of assessment are used in the mathematics subjects.
• Teacher educators' professional practices, with an interest in how teacher educators design, implement, evaluate and further develop mathematics teaching in teacher education, and how these practices can contribute to the teacher students' professional development.

Projects

• Mathematical reasoning, problemsolving, assessment and task design in elementary school and teacher education. Project: 2625152
• Students' self-produced questions in the exploration of properties of linear functions. Project: 2777349

In a rapidly developing society, and a world with challenges related to the environment, artificial intelligence and democracy, it is important that both schools and teacher education focus on critical thinking, democracy, preparedness, innovation and sustainability. The research area investigates the role of statistics and modelling in primary and secondary school and teacher education, with a particular interest in how pupils, student teachers and teachers can use mathematics to explore, understand and critically assess issues in school, everyday life and society. Central to this are the connections between mathematical knowledge, critical thinking, statistics and modelling, sustainability and democracy, as well as participation in current social issues. The research group is part of a Nordic network - Nordic network for Statistics and Probability Education - https://spred.matematikdidaktik.org/

The research area includes:

• Critical thinking and inferensialism, with emphasis on how pupils and student teachers can develop statistical understanding and use mathematics and data to investigate claims, assess information, argue and critically interpret phenomena and issues in school and society. 
• Mathematical modelling, democracy and sustainability, with emphasis on how pupils and student teachers can use mathematics and mathematical modelling to describe, investigate and critically assess complex societal issues related to democracy and emergency preparedness. The research examines, among other things, how assumptions and choices in mathematical models affect descriptions and conclusions, and how work with modelling can be included in the exploration of problems.
• Design of innovative learning activities in statistics and modelling in school and teacher education, with an interest in how future mathematics teachers develop competence to work with critical thinking, statistics, modelling, preparedness and democracy, and to reflect on the role of mathematics in school and society.

Projects

• Primary school students' understanding of descriptors in statistics.

The research group contributes to professional development and knowledge sharing through conferences and networks, and is the organizer of KLÆM 2025 and KLÆM 2027.

Associated networks:

• ERME network - the European Society for Research in Mathematics EducationNordic network for Statistics and Probability Education