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Faculty of Education
David Wheeler Institute for Research in Mathematics Education is a research group at Simon Fraser University, combining and integrating a variety of humanistic and scientific approaches in different areas related to Mathematics Education. The institute’s mission is to generate and share knowledge about acquiring mathematical literacy and understanding at all ages and to advance humanity by enriching the lives and options of learners. Current research and outreach projects focus on mathematics teacher education in both cognitive and affective domains, on mathematical anxiety, on aesthetics of mathematical experience and on uses of computer technology that promotes learning and teaching.
We also have a special interest in advancing knowledge about the learning of mathematics in general, and situating this knowledge within the lived experiences of learners. We aim to do this by reaching out and drawing on international expertise in a variety of research initiatives. Through community outreach in real world settings, we strive to promote effective change that meets the needs of students, teachers, parents, and the community at large.
We believe in integration of research and practice; as such our outreach programs provide a platform for conducting classroom research and for implementing research results in practice. An important part of this process is ongoing collaboration among researchers and teachers and school districts, as well as the creation of partnerships with the families, administrators, and policy makers who will potentially benefit from our research. goals, values and interdisciplinary nature of education and obtain a grounding in models for learning and teaching about environmental issues in diverse curricula.
Objectives of the Institute
- supporting our leading PhD program in Mathematics Education.
- further promoting and revising off-campus programs in mathematical literacy
- creating an off-campus program that supports secondary school teachers
- establishing a national graduate students network
- establishing relations with other “centres for excellence” and research institutes
- establishing and strengthening existing national and international collaborative research and development projects
- establishing lecture series
- holding an annual mini-conference that brings together international scholars to work on a designated project
- publishing a newsletter for teachers that brings together ideas from the variety of initiatives
- establishing a family support centre at SFU that includes tutoring and enrichment programs