Windows on mathematical meanings: the case of technology

Abstract

Dr. Richard Noss is a Professor of Mathematics Education and Director of the London Knowledge Lab (LKL), situated in London. The LKL is a unique collaboration between two of the UK's most prominent centres of world-class research - the Institute of Education and Birkbeck College. The Lab brings together computer and social scientists from a very broad range of fields. The mission of this institution is threefold: To understand the place of digital technologies and media in our cultural, social and educational relationships with knowledge - finding, acquiring, creating, and sharing it; to design, build and evaluate systems, processes and interfaces that enhance learning, both formal and informal, throughout life; and to examine critically the assumptions about knowledge and learning that underlie the increasingly wide range of applications of digital technologies. Professor Noss contributes particularly to the area of mathematics education. He is a most active researcher, having coordinated more than twenty research projects financed by governmental and research agencies of Great Britain and Europe. He is currently also the Associate Director for Technology Enhanced Learning of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Prof. Noss was the chief editor of the International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning until 2005. He has more than 200 publications including six books and 55 articles in refereed journals. The project involves the Professor's participation in activities in two academic centres, UNIBAN e UNESP, each one with lecturing staff with proven records in the area of mathematics education. The visit to the Post-Graduate Programme in Mathematics Education of UNIBAN represents a natural continuation of the research exchanges already established in between the Brazilian institute and the LKL since the creation of the Post-Graduate Programme of UNIBAN in 2007. This programme has courses leading to Academic Masters and Doctoral Degrees, both recognised by CAPES (grade 4). A principal figure in this collaboration is Prof. Lulu Healy (Siobhan Victoria Healy), who was conferred the title of visiting research fellow of the University of London in April 2008. The aims the visit to UNIBAN include the dissemination of the work of this highly renowned research with the teaching staff and student body in the form of a series of seminars, the development of research projects bringing together researches from the laboratory with research in the three research areas of UNIBAN: Innovations in teaching and learning mathematics, digital technologies, and teacher education. In UNESP, the visitor will be received by Prof. Marcus Vinicius Maltempi, who joined the Post-Graduate Programme in Mathematics Education of UNESP in 2003. Professor Maltempi has recently completed a Postdoctoral visit to the LKL, supervised by Prof. Noss (August 2008 - July 2009). The visit of Prof. Noss to the Post-Graduate Programme in Mathematics Education of UNESP will certainly strengthen his existing relationship with Prof. Maltempi and could also result in new collaboration with other members of the teaching staff. Prof. Noss has never visited UNESP, whose Post-Graduate Programme is pioneer in Latin America in the area of Mathematics Education, with more than 25 years since its creation. Currently assessed with a grade 5 from CAPES, the programme counts on 19 teaching staff distributed amongst five areas of research. The staff and students of the area New Technologies and Mathematics Education are those who will have the greatest opportunities to share ideas with Prof. Noss, but, considering his extensive experience, other staff and students are also likely to appreciate the opportunity to establish links which might result in some type of future collaboration. To this end, activities involving, seminars, participation in courses and discussions with research groups are planned. (AU)