The Maths4All team, led by CASTel members, are delighted to host a series of three webinars in relation to the new primary mathematics curriculum. The speakers of each webinar are authors of NCCA research reports who will explain the research underpinning the new curriculum.

The first webinar was held on Monday the 20th of March, where Dr. Aisling Leavy delivered a webinar titled: Developing Data Detectives and Statistical Thinkers in the Senior Primary Classes.  Dr. Aisling Leavy is Head of the STEM Education Department at Mary Immaculate College and is Associate Editor of Statistics Educational Research Journal. She authored the NCCA commissioned research paper titled; ‘Data and Chance in the senior primary classes’. In this webinar, Dr. Leavy discussed the teaching of data and some of the recommendations outlined in the NCCA report. She outlined the important role of statistics in society, and described how statistical thinking can be developed in the primary classes. She gave examples of the PPDAC data problem-solving cycle, involving the steps Problem, Plan, Data, Analysis and Conclusion.

The second webinar in this series will take place on the 18th of April which will be delivered by Dr. Aisling Twohill who is a lecturer in Mathematics Education, in the School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies. Her research interests encompass the role of shape patterning in children’s developing thinking; and assessment of children’s thinking through task-based interviews.  Dr. Twohill’s ongoing research projects include an international collaboration to develop materials for the teaching of algebra in senior primary and junior secondary school; and a collaborative project in DCU investigating the efficacy beliefs of student teachers about the teaching of mathematics. Dr. Twohill was invited by the NCCA to act as a critical friend in the development of the revised Primary School Mathematics Curriculum Algebra Strand. Here, she supported the translation of research and theory into the description of prescribed content for teaching. In this webinar, titled; ‘Thinking algebraically in primary school’, Dr. Twohill will explore the role of algebraic thinking in light of the new curriculum.

The final webinar in this series entitled: Teaching Number in Senior Primary School Classes – Some Insights from Research and Practice, will be held on the 25th of September by Dr. Seán Delaney. Seán is Registrar and Vice President (Academic Affairs) of Marino Institute of Education in Dublin. His teacher education and research activities are informed by his primary teaching experience, which spanned eleven years. He received his PhD in Teaching and Teacher Education from the University of Michigan. His dissertation, entitled “Adapting and Using U.S. Measures to Study Irish Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching,” and  subsequently authored a report for the Irish Department of Education and Science on “Irish Primary Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching.” His research interests are in the practice of teaching, teacher education, mathematics education, teacher knowledge, and comparing professional knowledge across countries. In this webinar, Dr. Delaney will share practical insights about the teaching of number.

Maths4all is funded by Science Foundation Ireland and this project is run in partnership with Clare Education Centre, Navan Education Centre, Tralee Education Centre, and the T-Rex platform.