School of Education

Science and Mathematics

Introduction

The Centre for Studies in Science and Mathematics Education (CSSME) was established in 1971 to promote research, teaching and scholarship in science and mathematics education. It is one of the leading international centres for work in this field and attracts students and researchers, including Visiting Fellows, from all over the world. The current Director is Jenny Lewis.

The Centre's research is organized around a number of key themes in science education and mathematics education:

• Theory and evidence in teaching and learning science
• Scientific literacy for citizenship and social responsibility
• Socio-cultural analysis of teachers' practices
• Policy studies in science education
• Technology and mathematics
• Mathematics: learning, teaching, curriculum and assessment
• The application of mathematics
• Mathematics teacher development

The Centre offers courses of initial teacher training for graduates preparing to teach at primary or secondary level and prepares students for research degrees and Masters Programmes in science and mathematics education.

The Centre is part of the National and Regional network of Science Learning Centres for England, as part of the White Rose Consortium.

The international research review journal Studies in Science Education is also edited from the Centre.

Doing research with us

Research students working within the Centre for Studies in Science and Mathematics Education are part of a vibrant and exciting research culture. We hold regular seminars addressing teaching and research issues to which all academic staff and research students are invited. Research students also have the opportunity to present and discuss their work within these seminars. In addition to academic activities we also meet socially on a regular basis.

Impact and EKT activity

Below we provide a selection of CSSME activities that have had a major impact within science and mathematics education.

Effective practice in Interactive Teaching

CSSME has been involved in a well-established body of research which draws on a social constructivist perspective of teaching and learning in science to develop teaching activities and sequences which actively engage pupils in their learning. Most recently this work has been informed by findings from two major ESRC-funded research projects (Towards Evidence-Based Practice In Science Education and Dialogic Teaching in Science Classrooms) and has led to the development of a series of interactive teaching sequences commissioned by the Secondary National Strategy. Taking the learners’ ideas as the starting point these sequences use a range of activities to help students develop better understandings of school science explanations.

Developing Curriculum Pathways in Mathematics - Phase Two

In conjunction with AQA, the team at Leeds worked on the following areas:

• Functional mathematics – the development of tests of competence and functionality, and related classroom materials;
• GCSE - new specification of the second GCSE in mathematics that implies more problem-solving material, and the development of this material;
• GCE A-level - small scale changes to the current set-up involving stronger emphasis on questions requiring greater mathematical rigour/proof than is currently the case;
• FSMQ-type modules to support the new diplomas, to provide an alternative route to GCSE grade C, and to support students doing A-levels that contain a numerical element.