Research by Numeracy Centre staff

Academic staff of the Numeracy Centre is engaged in research programmes intended to investigate the educational effectiveness of different types of interventions and educational approaches. They are also engaged in an ongoing investigation of the theoretical basis of quantitative literacy at the tertiary level.

The two fundamental questions of the Numeracy Centre research are:

• What does it mean to be "appropriately quantitatively literate" - both in the higher education setting and as a graduate?
• What teaching and learning approaches are most effective in promoting quantitative literacy development?

Examples of recent and current research projects are:

• Proportional reasoning as a threshold concept in quantitative literacy
• promotion of social justice through quantitative literacy curriculum
• analysis of errors in students writing about quantitative concepts
• analysis of the alignment of course outcomes and assessment
• use of technology to enhance student learning, critical thinking, and writing
• tutor professional development, through researching classroom practice

Staff in the Numeracy Centre are also involved more broadly in mathematics education and other disciplinary research. Two lecturers are currently engaged in study towards a PhD, one in Mathematics, the other in Psychology.