The Ninth Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI 9) took place at the Institute of Education, St Patrick’s Campus, Dublin City University on Friday October 13th and Saturday October 14th, 2023. The conference consisted of two keynote presentations, two symposia, a panel discussion, thirty paper presentations and six poster presentations. The proceedings of the conference are available here: Proceedings of the Ninth Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland.
Over
90 people attended the conference, which was opened by Professor Charlotte Holland, Deputy Dean of the Institute of Education and Professor in the School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies at DCU. The theme for MEI 9 was Conceptualising Success in Mathematics Education.
Professor Susanne Prediger, full professor in Mathematics Education at TU Dortmund University, director of the DZLM research network (the German National Centre for Mathematics Teacher Education) at the IPN Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education and Editor-in-Chief for the international journal, Educational Studies in Mathematics, provided the first keynote address. Professor Prediger presented on teachers’ conceptualisations of success in mathematics learning and how this can manifest in their teaching practices. She described how professional development programmes must take this into account in order to impact on practice.
Dr Niamh O’Meara, lecturer in mathematics education and deputy director of EPI-STEM at the University of Limerick, provided the second keynote address. In her presentation, she documented the changing landscape of mathematics education at second level in Ireland since 2010 and highlighted how the reforms implemented during this time are leading to differing views of success in mathematics.
MEI 9 also hosted a panel discussion entitled What counts as success in the assessment of mathematics? The panel was chaired by Dr Joe Travers with discussants Dr Thérèse Dooley, Dr Zita Lysaght, Dr Vasiliki Pitsia and Dr Gerry Shiel. The contributions of each of the panellists ensured that MEI 9 afforded the opportunity for those working in the field of mathematics education to challenge existing conceptions and perceptions of success.
The organising Committee and Scientific Committee sincerely thank CASTeL for supporting the conference and all who assisted in the preparation for and facilitation of MEI 9. The next edition of MEI, which will take place in 2025, will mark the tenth anniversary of Ireland’s national mathematics education research conference.
