CERME-konferansen arrangeres i år i Budapest, og som vanlig er det rik deltakelse fra det norske matematikkdidaktiske miljøet, og Task design-gruppa er ikke noe unntak. Vi finpusser i disse dager de endelige innsendingene av bidrag, og supplerer denne lista etter hvert som bidragene blir klare.
Norwegian mathematics teachers’ beliefs about collaborative learning via computer programming
Aleksandra Hara Fadum and Helga Kufaas Tellefsen
In the fall of 2020, programming became a required part of mathematics in Norway. In this paper, we want to elicit and better understand beliefs teachers might have about collaborative learning via programming in secondary mathematics. Qualitative coding methods (Saldaña, 2015) were used to analyze the teachers´ written reflections. Results indicated that Norwegian teachers for grades 5 – 10 (ages 9 – 16) may have beliefs about collaborative learning and computer programming in school mathematics that are in line with ideas stated in the Norwegian mathematics curriculum about active student participation in learning and using programming as a tool for developing mathematical understanding.
A view on in-service teachers’ understanding of Simpson’s paradox
Raz Jaff and Hans Wilhelm Mørch
This study investigated the understanding of a statistical paradox, namely Simpson’s paradox, among 18 in-service teachers in a mathematics teacher development program in Norway. The study employed a thematic analysis approach and identified four themes among the participants: critical understanding, consistent non-critical understanding, limited understanding, and idiosyncratic understanding. The in-service teachers tend to have difficulties in recognizing and explaining Simpson’s paradox.
Euclid must go! Norwegian compulsory school exams 1962-1979
Hilde Opsal and Bjørn Smestad (both Volda University College)
One important idea of the international reform movement New Math was a reform of geometry teaching. The traditional Euclidean geometry should be replaced by a more algebraic geometry. While New Math has been a popular subject of research, there is still much that is unknown about the actual implementations in different countries. In Norway, the curricula for compulsory school were highly influenced by New Math for a few years in the early 1970s, but the influence on exams have not been researched. This paper is based on an analysis of geometry tasks in selected Norwegian national exams in grade 9 (age 16) in the period 1962-1979. Our analyses reveal that Norwegian exams were surprisingly stable throughout this period, with a few exceptions. As exams have an important role in signaling to teachers what is considered important, our results suggest that a change in geometry teaching was never a priority in the reform efforts in Norway.
Diversity dimensions in Norwegian mathematics textbooks
Oda Heidi Bolstad and Bjørn Smestad (both Volda University College)
Textbooks are frequently used in mathematics education around the world. They are important means by which children develop perceptions of themselves and of the world, and hence can serve as identity
resources by reflecting students’ backgrounds and contribute to shaping students’ foregrounds. In this paper, we report on a quantitative study of how diversity dimensions are treated in current Norwegian mathematics textbooks. We find that “males” and “females” are equally represented and there are many instances of “non-Norwegian” names and looks. On the other hand, diversity in terms of sexuality, religion, and functionality, is limited. This serves a reminder that there is a long way to go even before numerical equality of representation is achieved.