The Contribution of Mathematics to School STEM Education: Current Understandings

This book presents contemporary STEM education research conducted by mathematics education researchers and their collaborators which highlights the important and pivotal role of mathematics in school STEM education. It showcases evidence of the types of integrated curriculum approaches to STEM education which highlight mathematics as a key component and where mathematical concepts can be learnt through integrated tasks. These examples challenge the idea that mathematics is just an application or ‘servant’ to the other STEM subjects and highlight the contribution that mathematics can make to the understanding and practices of the other STEM subjects. This book fills a void in the current research literature on the role of mathematics in STEM education, provides evidence of the possibilities for designing integrated STEM curriculum and highlights current understandings of the role of mathematics in school STEM education. For researchers, it identifies and elaborates gaps to encourage further exploration in this field.

Dr Judy Anderson is an Honorary Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work, at the University of Sydney. She worked at the University of Sydney for more than 18 years as a secondary mathematics education lecturer and researcher. A former secondary mathematics teacher, she lectured in secondary mathematics curriculum across pre-service and postgraduate teacher education programs and was a recipient of a faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. Judy has conducted research into middle years’ students’ motivation and engagement in mathematics and investigated teachers’ implementation of problem solving strategies in mathematics. She was Director of the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy from 2016 to 2020 where she worked with academics from the faculties of Science and Engineering to develop this innovative professional learning program for STEM teachers across the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. During her time as director, the Academy reached over 1200 teachers from 220 primary and secondary school settings in NSW, Australia. By collecting data about teachers’ and students’ experiences of integrated STEM curriculum, Judy and her colleagues published several journal articles and chapters in books about the impact of the Academy program. She also co-edited a Springer book on Integrated Approaches to STEM Education: An International Perspective with Professor Yeping Li from A&M University, Texas.

Dr Katie Makar is a Professor in Mathematics Education at the University of Queensland. She is current President of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) and co-Director of the International Collaboration for Research in Statistical Reasoning, Thinking and Literacy (SRTL). Her award-winning research focuses on teachers’ learning of innovative pedagogies and children’s statistical reasoning. Katie’s classroom-based research collaborates with practicing teachers to seek pragmatic solutions to improving teaching and learning. Her recent nationally-funded research project collaborated with Dr Jill Fielding (University of New England) to investigate how primary teachers initiate, build and sustain a productive classroom culture and mathematical practices conducive to addressing complex problems that rely on mathematical evidence. Her research also studies teachers’ adoption of inquiry-based practices over time, and children’s informal statistical reasoning that draws on age-appropriate practices in data science education. Katie has over 100 peer-reviewed publications; the quality and impact of her highly-cited research is evidenced by multiple university and international awards. A former high school mathematics teacher for 15 years, Katie’s work with preservice and practicing primary and secondary teachers continually seeks to have an impact on improving mathematics pedagogies to better prepare students for the future.