The workshop, part of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications’ workshop series on Higher Education Teaching and Learning, was organised by Jos Gunns (University of Bristol), Mathew Pugh and Rob Wilson (both Cardiff University). The workshop aimed to support those wishing to enhance their understanding of educational enquiry (in relation to HE mathematics) in addition to developing informed and more robust ways to evaluate or research their teaching practice. Participants came from across the UK, including St Andrews, Lancaster, London, and Swansea.
The opening speaker was Professor Elizabeth Cleaver, who is an independent HE consultant and visiting professor at both the University of West of England and Buckinghamshire New University. Elizabeth set the scene by presenting an introduction to educational enquiry, and the benefit of disciplinary approaches. Educational enquiry is important to provide evidence that can be used to enhance the student experience, but this evidence is also valuable in an increasingly metric-focused HE sector. A particular emphasis was that we, as educators, are the “evidence judiciary” – we are best placed to weigh up the evidence for what is effective within our discipline.
The following speaker was Michael Grove, Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education at Birmingham University. Michael initially focused on defining what is, and what is not considered educational research. In particular, recognising the progression from anecdotal accounts of teaching to well defined and replicable studies. The continuum of scholarship activity was also considered in terms of specific activities e.g. from local case studies, to action research, and experimental studies, as well as with respect to the “sphere of influence” e.g. to assist self-reflection, to develop local knowledge, or to feed into the broader educational context. The specific example of Maths Support was used to illustrate how through such work, Maths Support had developed from a “cottage industry” to become a key part of provision across Higher Education.
The final talk before lunch was Professor Sheilia Trahar, Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol. She focussed on the rather challenging topic of qualitative research–rather an alien concept for mathematicians who are most used to attaching numbers to everything! Sheila began by discussing different motivations and approaches to qualitative research before moving into what qualitative research is good for(understanding topics on a very deep level), as well as what it can’t do (produce replicable results). The ethics of involving students in research studies was also discussed, as well as the inherent challenges of how to find a suitable ethics committee to ask!
After lunch, Michael led a session on how to frame research question, following which the participants divided into two groups to design and discuss their own research questions. One group considered issues of student engagement whilst the other focussed on assessments. The discussions were rich and helpful, to the extent that everyone present forgot about the coffee break! At least one potential project emerged as a result, and participants left Bristol full of ideas and better equipped to realise them.
