This one-day conference is aimed at PhD students and recent graduates in mathematics or mathematics education with the goal of building community and capacity for conducting topical and high quality research in the scholarship of teaching and learning mathematics. The event will focus in particular on research related to undergraduate mathematics teaching and learning, as well as undergraduate- and graduate-level teacher education.

 

Mathematics education research began in mathematics departments, led by mathematicians. Early contributions to educational theory from mathematicians such as Alfred North Whitehead, Felix Klein, and Hans Freudenthal drew attention to key issues in epistemology, ontology, and pedagogy of mathematics. From insights on essential experiences with mathematics (Whitehead, 1920), to the essential role of advanced mathematical knowledge (Klein, 1945), to the mathematizing of the world around us (Freudenthal, 1972), their work was foundational and continues to be highly influential to this day. Since then, the field of mathematics education has expanded as its own research discipline, and mathematicians have continued to play an important role, influencing theory and practice at all levels.

 

In the US and across Europe, research in mathematics education is often housed in departments of mathematics, and this close structure has enabled mathematicians to work jointly with teachers and education researchers to develop experiments, produce resources, establish theories of learning, and mobilize best practices for teaching. The essential and leading role that mathematicians, and mathematics, play in mathematics education research is well-recognized internationally, as evidenced by an upcoming Springer publication Where is the Math in your MathEd Research? Personal Accounts of Leading Educators (Eds. Yan, Mamolo, & Kontorovich, 2025).

 

In Canada, there is tradition of mathematicians and educators coming together to discuss key issues of common interest, such as through the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG) or locally through the Fields MathEd Forum. However, topics in undergraduate mathematics education tend to be underrepresented in favour of K-12 issues in education, equity, and inclusion.