Reports from 13 Further Mathematics Knowledge Networks supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics [NCETM] are analysed. After summarizing basic characteristics of the networks regarding leadership, composition and pattern of activity, each of the following aspects is examined in greater depth: Developmental aims…

The integration of digital tools in mathematics education is considered both promising and problematic. To deal with this issue, notions of "webbing" and "instrumental orchestration" are developed. However, the two seemed to be disconnected, and having different cultural and theoretical roots. In this article, we investigate…

This article focusses on a programme of research into the teaching and learning of proof inspired by Celia Hoyles. By revisiting the first of a series of projects into justifying and proving in school mathematics developed by Celia in the 1990s and by considering how the innovative research methods adopted as well as the results obtained impacted…

For more than 10 years, I had the honour and pleasure to work with Celia Hoyles and Richard Noss. We share a common concern for more learnable mathematics, especially in algebra, and for the need to build new representational infrastructures taking advantage of technology. Beyond this common concern, my choice to work in the French institutional…

Dublin Institute of Technology offers students a number of different routes into engineering, allowing many non-standard entrants the opportunity to study the discipline provided they fulfil certain criteria. The final aim of many of these students is to achieve an Honours Degree in Engineering, which takes a minimum of 4 years. Apart from the…

The next edition of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) Mathematics Working Group's curriculum document will be based on the notion of mathematical competence. This approach aims particularly to capture higher-level learning goals that go beyond the traditional content-related and often small-scale description of learning…

Competency has been the buzzword of higher education for at least a decade. The reasonable approach of describing what students should be able to do after completing coursework, however, falls short of the fact that mathematics, like any subject matter, contains inherent difficulties for students. Students usually need assistance in overcoming…

Some mathematical activities and investigations for the classroom or the lecture theatre can appear rather contrived. This cannot, however, be levelled at the idea given here, since it is based on a perfectly sensible question concerning distributional approximations that was posed by an undergraduate student. Out of this simple question, and…

One-third of the current A-level mathematics curriculum is determined by choice, constructed out of "applied mathematics" modules in mechanics, statistics and decision mathematics. Although this choice arguably involves the most sizeable instance of choice in the current English school mathematics curriculum, and it has a significant impact on…

This theoretical study is an attempt to explore the potential of the dynamic and interactive mathematics learning environments (DIMLE) in relation to the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework. DIMLE are developed with intent to support learning mathematics through free exploration in a less constrained environment. A…

This article describes how technology has been used to motivate the learning of mathematics for students of Sports Technology at Loughborough University. Sports applications are introduced whenever appropriate and Matlab is taught to enable the students to solve realistic problems. The mathematical background of the students is varied and the…

This article uses Rasch analysis to explore the efficacy of a questionnaire designed to assist university teaching staff in identifying those Level 4 students most in need of mathematics support. The students were all taking a mathematics module as part of their first year Computing curriculum, and the questionnaire explores the students' previous…

In a time when mathematical under-preparedness is widespread and learning support is most urgently needed, this investigation seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the mathematics learning centre (MLC) in the University of Limerick. Qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of the MLC on the students' mathematics education and students'…

In this article, we report the planning and implementation of an oral assessment component in a first-year pure mathematics module of a degree course in mathematics. Our aim was to examine potential barriers to using oral assessments, explore the advantages and disadvantages compared to existing common assessment methods and document the outcomes…

WebQuests incorporate technology with educational concepts through integrating online resources with student-centred and activity-based learning. In this study, we describe and evaluate a WebQuest based on conic sections, which we have used with a group of prospective mathematics teachers. The WebQuest entitled: "Creating a Carpet Design Using…