Research Methods in Mathematics Education (for Grades 8-13)

This course addresses various qualitative research methods that are suitable for investigating phenomena related to the teaching and learning mathematics. The students will initiate and carry out an empirical study at their own school, which forms the basis of a scientific text constituting the assessment component of the course. It will be worked on formulating researchable questions and finding suitable theories and methods to answer them. Furthermore, it will be worked on the notion of a scientific text as a genre - that is, what elements such a text consists of.

Knowledge

The candidate has:

• advanced knowledge of the qualitative research paradigm
• in-depth knowledge of various research designs
• knowledge of methods for collecting and analysing empirical data in educational research
• knowledge of ethical guidelines for social science research

Skills

The candidate can:

• develop research questions that are relevant in mathematics education
• make informed choices of methods for collecting and analysing empirical data
• analyse qualitative data based on relevant theory
• supervise colleagues who participate in developmental projects in mathematics teaching

General competence

The candidate can:

• professionally assess developmental work and research related to mathematics teaching and learning
• design and conduct empirical research into mathematics teaching and learning
• disseminate results from empirical studies in school

The course is conducted with three gatherings (seminars) in Trondheim. It is taken at the same time as the last part of Mathematical Modelling and ICT in Mathematics Teaching (Grade 11-13) (15 ECTS credits). Blackboard is used as the learning platform of the course.