She is the rock star of the mathematics world and the question Professor Dame Celia Hoyles is going to explore at her free public lecture will resonate like a smashed guitar.
Is maths important?
Some people are adamant that it is, while others (ask any teenager) will argue that the subject is both boring and irrelevant.
Professor Hoyles, Professor of Mathematics Education at the London Knowledge Lab, University College London Institute of Education at the University of London, will present School Mathematics: Potential, Policy and Practice, at the Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre 1, at the University of Tasmania, Hobart on Thursday, January 29 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
She is also presenting at the Conversations on Knowledge for Teaching conference in Launceston on February 11-13 (fully subscribed).
In her free public lecture on Thursday, she will discuss what she sees as the root of differing points of view on the importance of teaching maths.
“I will argue that mathematics is indeed important but only if learners actually engage with the subject and do so in ways that are rigorous,” she said.
“I will propose that one way to achieve both rigour and broader access to mathematics lies with using appropriately-designed digital technology and I will illustrate my argument with examples from research and practice.”
University of Tasmania Faculty of Education acting Associate Dean (Research) Associate Professor Rosemary Callingham said that it is “an absolute coup” for the State and the University to have Professor Hoyles in Tasmania through the University’s Visiting Scholars Program.
“She is someone with extraordinary knowledge whose suggestions and interventions through Britain’s leading policy-makers is really starting to have an impact, with enrolments increasing and the status of mathematics rising,” Associate Professor Callingham said.
“Anyone who has any interest at all in the place of mathematics, from educators to maths-reliant industries like computer animation and digital technology, will be fascinated by this lecture.
“And her ideas on policy shifts that could promote and enhance maths in schools could really benefit Tasmania.”
Professor Hoyles is being accompanied on her trip by her equally successful husband Professor Richard Noss, an expert in mathematics and technology, who will be speaking at a free public lecture at the University of Tasmania’s Cradle Coast Campus in Burnie on February 5 at 5.30pm.
Profile: Professor Dame Celia Hoyles (OBE)
Celia Hoyles is Professor of Mathematics Education at the London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London, following teaching in London secondary schools.
She was awarded a first-class honours degree in mathematics from the University of Manchester and holds a masters and doctorate in mathematics education.
Professor Hoyles was the UK Government’s Chief Adviser for Mathematics, 2004-2007, and the Director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, 2007-2013.
She was the first recipient of International Commission of the Mathematics Instruction (ICMI) Hans Freudenthal Medal in 2004, and of the UK’s Royal Society Kavli Education Medal in 2011.
She became an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004, and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2014.
Her academic interests are secondary students’ conceptions of proof, the mathematical skills needed in modern workplaces and the design computer environments for learning mathematics.
She has directed more than 30 research and consultancy projects and been published widely in articles and books.
She also co-presented a popular TV mathematics quiz show, Fun and Games, which topped the prime-time ratings between 1987 and 1990.
She serves on the Education Committee of the European Mathematical Society and was elected as President of the learned society the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) in January, 2014
University of Tasmania media and communications officer Lana Best
