dissertation topics in mathematics education

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Mathematics Education Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

New Mathematics Teachers' Goals, Orientations, and Resources that Influence Implementation of Principles Learned in Brigham Young University's Teacher Preparation Program , Caroline S. Gneiting

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Impact of Applying Visual Design Principles to Boardwork in a Mathematics Classroom , Jennifer Rose Canizales

Practicing Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives of Public Records in Their Classrooms , Sini Nicole White Graff

Parents' Perceptions of the Importance of Teaching Mathematics: A Q-Study , Ashlynn M. Holley

Engagement in Secondary Mathematics Group Work: A Student Perspective , Rachel H. Jorgenson

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Understanding College Students' Use of Written Feedback in Mathematics , Erin Loraine Carroll

Identity Work to Teach Mathematics for Social Justice , Navy B. Dixon

Developing a Quantitative Understanding of U-Substitution in First-Semester Calculus , Leilani Camille Heaton Fonbuena

The Perception of At-Risk Students on Caring Student-Teacher Relationships and Its Impact on Their Productive Disposition , Brittany Hopper

Variational and Covariational Reasoning of Students with Disabilities , Lauren Rigby

Structural Reasoning with Rational Expressions , Dana Steinhorst

Student-Created Learning Objects for Mathematics Renewable Assignments: The Potential Value They Bring to the Broader Community , Webster Wong

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Emotional Geographies of Beginning and Veteran Reformed Teachers in Mentor/Mentee Relationships , Emily Joan Adams

You Do Math Like a Girl: How Women Reason Mathematically Outside of Formal and School Mathematics Contexts , Katelyn C. Pyfer

Developing the Definite Integral and Accumulation Function Through Adding Up Pieces: A Hypothetical Learning Trajectory , Brinley Nichole Stevens

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Mathematical Identities of Students with Mathematics Learning Dis/abilities , Emma Lynn Holdaway

Teachers' Mathematical Meanings: Decisions for Teaching Geometric Reflections and Orientation of Figures , Porter Peterson Nielsen

Student Use of Mathematical Content Knowledge During Proof Production , Chelsey Lynn Van de Merwe

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Making Sense of the Equal Sign in Middle School Mathematics , Chelsea Lynn Dickson

Developing Understanding of the Chain Rule, Implicit Differentiation, and Related Rates: Towards a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory Rooted in Nested Multivariation , Haley Paige Jeppson

Secondary Preservice Mathematics Teachers' Curricular Reasoning , Kimber Anne Mathis

“Don’t Say Gay. We Say Dumb or Stupid”: Queering ProspectiveMathematics Teachers’ Discussions , Amy Saunders Ross

Aspects of Engaging Problem Contexts From Students' Perspectives , Tamara Kay Stark

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Addressing Pre-Service Teachers' Misconceptions About Confidence Intervals , Kiya Lynn Eliason

How Teacher Questions Affect the Development of a Potential Hybrid Space in a Classroom with Latina/o Students , Casandra Helen Job

Teacher Graphing Practices for Linear Functions in a Covariation-Based College Algebra Classroom , Konda Jo Luckau

Principles of Productivity Revealed from Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Discussions Around the Productiveness of Teacher Moves in Response to Teachable Moments , Kylie Victoria Palsky

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Curriculum Decisions and Reasoning of Middle School Teachers , Anand Mikel Bernard

Teacher Response to Instances of Student Thinking During Whole Class Discussion , Rachel Marie Bernard

Kyozaikenkyu: An In-Depth Look into Japanese Educators' Daily Planning Practices , Matthew David Melville

Analysis of Differential Equations Applications from the Coordination Class Perspective , Omar Antonio Naranjo Mayorga

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Principles of Effective Teaching Student Teachershave the Opportunity to Learn in an AlternativeStudent Teaching Structure , Danielle Rose Divis

Insight into Student Conceptions of Proof , Steven Daniel Lauzon

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Teacher Participation and Motivation inProfessional Development , Krystal A. Hill

Student Evaluation of Mathematical Explanations in anInquiry-Based Mathematics Classroom , Ashley Burgess Hulet

English Learners' Participation in Mathematical Discourse , Lindsay Marie Merrill

Mathematical Interactions between Teachers and Students in the Finnish Mathematics Classroom , Paula Jeffery Prestwich

Parents and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics , Rebecca Anne Roberts

Examining the Effects of College Algebra on Students' Mathematical Dispositions , Kevin Lee Watson

Problems Faced by Reform Oriented Novice Mathematics Teachers Utilizing a Traditional Curriculum , Tyler Joseph Winiecke

Academic and Peer Status in the Mathematical Life Stories of Students , Carol Ann Wise

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

The Effect of Students' Mathematical Beliefs on Knowledge Transfer , Kristen Adams

Language Use in Mathematics Textbooks Written in English and Spanish , Kailie Ann Bertoch

Teachers' Curricular Reasoning and MKT in the Context of Algebra and Statistics , Kolby J. Gadd

Mathematical Telling in the Context of Teacher Interventions with Collaborative Groups , Brandon Kyle Singleton

An Investigation of How Preservice Teachers Design Mathematical Tasks , Elizabeth Karen Zwahlen

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Student Understanding of Limit and Continuity at a Point: A Look into Four Potentially Problematic Conceptions , Miriam Lynne Amatangelo

Exploring the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching of Japanese Teachers , Ratu Jared R. T. Bukarau

Comparing Two Different Student Teaching Structures by Analyzing Conversations Between Student Teachers and Their Cooperating Teachers , Niccole Suzette Franc

Professional Development as a Community of Practice and Its Associated Influence on the Induction of a Beginning Mathematics Teacher , Savannah O. Steele

Types of Questions that Comprise a Teacher's Questioning Discourse in a Conceptually-Oriented Classroom , Keilani Stolk

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Student Teachers' Interactive Decisions with Respect to Student Mathematics Thinking , Jonathan J. Call

Manipulatives and the Growth of Mathematical Understanding , Stacie Joyce Gibbons

Learning Within a Computer-Assisted Instructional Environment: Effects on Multiplication Math Fact Mastery and Self-Efficacy in Elementary-Age Students , Loraine Jones Hanson

Mathematics Teacher Time Allocation , Ashley Martin Jones

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

How Student Positioning Can Lead to Failure in Inquiry-based Classrooms , Kelly Beatrice Campbell

Teachers' Decisions to Use Student Input During Class Discussion , Heather Taylor Toponce

A Conceptual Framework for Student Understanding of Logarithms , Heather Rebecca Ambler Williams

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Growth in Students' Conceptions of Mathematical Induction , John David Gruver

Contextualized Motivation Theory (CMT): Intellectual Passion, Mathematical Need, Social Responsibility, and Personal Agency in Learning Mathematics , Janelle Marie Hart

Thinking on the Brink: Facilitating Student Teachers' Learning Through In-the-Moment Interjections , Travis L. Lemon

Understanding Teachers' Change Towards a Reform-Oriented Mathematics Classroom , Linnae Denise Williams

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

A Comparison of Mathematical Discourse in Online and Face-to-Face Environments , Shawn D. Broderick

The Influence of Risk Taking on Student Creation of Mathematical Meaning: Contextual Risk Theory , Erin Nicole Houghtaling

Uncovering Transformative Experiences: A Case Study of the Transformations Made by one Teacher in a Mathematics Professional Development Program , Rachelle Myler Orsak

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Student Teacher Knowledge and Its Impact on Task Design , Tenille Cannon

How Eighth-Grade Students Estimate with Fractions , Audrey Linford Hanks

Similar but Different: The Complexities of Students' Mathematical Identities , Diane Skillicorn Hill

Choose Your Words: Refining What Counts as Mathematical Discourse in Students' Negotiation of Meaning for Rate of Change of Volume , Christine Johnson

Mathematics Student Teaching in Japan: A Multi-Case Study , Allison Turley Shwalb

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

Applying Toulmin's Argumentation Framework to Explanations in a Reform Oriented Mathematics Class , Jennifer Alder Brinkerhoff

What Are Some of the Common Traits in the Thought Processes of Undergraduate Students Capable of Creating Proof? , Karen Malina Duff

Probing for Reasons: Presentations, Questions, Phases , Kellyn Nicole Farlow

One Problem, Two Contexts , Danielle L. Gigger

The Main Challenges that a Teacher-in-Transition Faces When Teaching a High School Geometry Class , Greg Brough Henry

Discovering the Derivative Can Be "Invigorating:" Mark's Journey to Understanding Instantaneous Velocity , Charity Ann Gardner Hyer

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

How a Master Teacher Uses Questioning Within a Mathematical Discourse Community , Omel Angel Contreras

Determining High School Geometry Students' Geometric Understanding Using van Hiele Levels: Is There a Difference Between Standards-based Curriculum Students and NonStandards-based Curriculum Students? , Rebekah Loraine Genz

The Nature and Frequency of Mathematical Discussion During Lesson Study That Implemented the CMI Framework , Andrew Ray Glaze

Second Graders' Solution Strategies and Understanding of a Combination Problem , Tiffany Marie Hessing

What Does It Mean To Preservice Mathematics Teachers To Anticipate Student Responses? , Matthew M. Webb

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

Fraction Multiplication and Division Image Change in Pre-Service Elementary Teachers , Jennifer J. Cluff

An Examination of the Role of Writing in Mathematics Instruction , Amy Jeppsen

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Reasoning About Motion: A Case Study , Tiffini Lynn Glaze

Theses/Dissertations from 2003 2003

An Analysis of the Influence of Lesson Study on Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers' View of Self-As Mathematics Expert , Julie Stafford

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Education Dissertation Topics

Published by Grace Graffin at January 5th, 2023 , Revised On May 17, 2024

Introduction

Education as a subject helps in understanding the various learning approaches and different types of education. When you choose education as your major subject, you will be expected to develop a critical understanding of the issues surrounding education.

To choose an education dissertation topic, you can look into a wide array of topics, including public school education, holistic education, the role of ethnicity, gender and class on academic achievements, adult education, preschool and primary school education, college and university education, child development, distance learning, politics and policy in education, teacher education, and curriculum.

To help you get started with brainstorming for education topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your education dissertation.

These topics have been developed by PhD-qualified writers of our team , so you can trust them to use them when drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question ,  aim and objectives ,  literature review along the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics here.

Topic 1: Investigating the impact of COVID-19 on the learning experience of the students

Research Aim: The research aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the learning experience of the students.

Objectives:

• To analyse the impact of Covid-19 on education delivery across schools.
• To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on teaching delivery and learning outcomes of the students.
• To investigate how the pandemic affected the learning experience of the students

Topic 2: An analysis of the impact of classroom interaction and participation on the personality development and confidence of the students.

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to analyse the impact of classroom interaction and participation on the personality development and confidence of the students.

• To analyse the importance of classroom interaction for the students and how it contributes to personal development.
• To investigate the impact of classroom participation on the confidence of the students.
• To evaluate how classroom interaction and participation impact the personality development and confidence of the students.

Topic 3: The potential use of virtual reality for educational assessment of the students.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the potential use of virtual reality for the educational assessment of students.

• To analyse the technologies available for student assessment across higher educational institutions.
• To evaluate the role of virtual reality in education delivery and assessment.
• To investigate how virtual reality influences the educational assessment of students to improvet their learning experience and knowledge.

Topic 4: An evaluation of the impact of the rising cost of academic education on students of lower-income backgrounds in the UK.

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to evaluate the impact of the rising cost of academic education on students of lower-income backgrounds in the UK.

• To analyse the factors impacting the affordability of higher education in the UK.
• To understand the challenges of lower-income background students in the UK.
• To investigate the impact of the rising cost of academic education on the lower-income background students in the UK and how the meritorious students can be supported.

Topic 5: An investigation into the impact of interactions among students of multiple ethnicities on the cross-cultural communication and behaviour of the pupils.

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to investigate the impact of interactions among students of multiple ethnicities on cross-cultural communication and pupil behaviourt .

• To analyse the impact of student interactions among different ethnicities.
• To determine the importance of cross-cultural communication and tolerance of the students.
• To examine the impact of interactions among students of multiple ethnicities on the cross-cultural communication and behaviour of the pupils.

Dissertation Topics in Education Dynamics

Topic 1: the need to use information and communication technology to study in public institutions in any country of your choice. a reflection on the impact of covid-19 on the education sector in the chosen country..

Research Aim: This research will focus on the lack of good information and communication technology equipment in public institutions of study and the need to find the education sector to meet the new standard of learning in work. It will also analyse the pandemic’s impact on students in public institutions at home throughout the pandemic without any academic activities.

Topic 2: The fear of maintaining social distancing in schools

Research Aim: This research aims to evaluate the fear of maintaining social distancing in schools. It will also suggest possible solutions to minimise the fear of parents, educators, and students.

Topic 3: Online Education- Increased screen time or quality education

Research Aim: This research aims to identify whether online education exposes students to increased screen time or quality education.

Topic 4: The emergence of coding courses for young children and their cognitive development and age. A comparative study.

Research Aim: This research aims to identify how far coding education is beneficial for children. What sort of positive and negative consequences are concerned with the future of young children with their access to such kind of advanced technology?

Topic 5: Data science and growing opportunities for data scientists

Research Aim: This research will focus on identifying the emergence of degrees and courses in data science, their importance, and growing opportunities for data scientists. Who can become a data scientist? What is its career scope?

Covid-19 Education Topics 

Impacts of coronavirus on education.

Research Aim: This study aims to review the impacts of Coronavirus on education.

Online educational programs to educate students during COVID-19

Research Aim: The widespread Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown have disrupted the education of many students, including school, college, and university levels. This study will identify the online programs offered through various platforms, schools, colleges, and universities. It will discuss how students can have access to these courses and how it will benefit them.

Impact of COVID-19 on educational institutes

Research Aim: This study will focus on identifying the impacts of COVID-19 on educational institutes. What steps can be taken to ensure a safe environment for the students and teaching staff?

Role of teachers and professors during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Research Aim: This study will focus on the contribution of teachers, professors, and institutions in providing education. What challenges are they facing? What would be the possible ways to improve the current education system?

The future of education post Coronavirus pandemic.

Research Aim: This study will collect information about current education methods during the pandemic and predict the future of education after the coronavirus pandemic.

Topic C1: How the Coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education?

Research Aim: Coronavirus has offered a stark reminder of the very human nature of schools. Students have leapt into online learning but cannot wait to get back into her building. Being online, I don’t think you really get a true sense of whether a student is really engaged and has a proper understanding. This study will aim to understand the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education.

Topic C2: How Coronavirus could affect the well-being of people with intellectual disabilities

Research Aim: We are all feeling more anxious than usual. We may be worried about accessing food and services, going to work, enduring self-isolation, or catching COVID-19. While some anxiety is normal, some of us may be more resilient to changes in our routines and the general uncertainty the world is experiencing. But for the 1.5 million people in the UK with an intellectual disability, these effects may be much greater. This research will aim to establish how Coronavirus could affect the wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities.

Topic C3: The impact of the 2019–20 Coronavirus pandemic on education

Research Aim: The 2019–20 Coronavirus pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the widespread closures of schools and universities. As of 28 March 2020, over 1.7 billion learners were out of school due to school closures in response to COVID-19. According to UNESCO monitoring, over 100 countries have implemented nationwide closures, impacting nearly 90% of the world’s student population. This research will explore the impact of the 2019–20 Coronavirus pandemic on education.

Topic C4: What actions are being taken by universities in response to Coronavirus?

Research Aim: We have seen a growing number of decisions by universities to start implementing social distancing strategies, such as moving to more online teaching delivery and increasing homework by staff. At present, there is no government advice to universities about this. Therefore any operational decision by individual universities must be based on their local circumstances, which vary for various reasons. This research will examine some of the measures we see across the universities in response to the pandemic.

Topic C5: The impact of Coronavirus on international students and the response from universities

Research Aim: This research will explore the impact of Coronavirus on international students and the response from universities.

The Best Education Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: a comparison of wonderlic tests and standardised tests as means to assess academic performance..

Research Aim: Although there are many techniques and methods for assessing academic performance, this research will focus on the comparative analysis of Wonderlic and standardised tests. In the end, the research will conclude which approach would be better in different academic situations.

Topic 2: The theory and practice of educational games as a means to promote better learning.

Research Aim: In recent times, many pieces of research have focused on identifying different learning approaches to provide quality education. This research will analyse the concept of educational games for young children to promote and improve the learning mechanisms.

Topic 3: The impact of learning ability of a child: A case study of kindergarten students

Research Aim: With the emergence of technological advancements, many organisations, including education institutes, have started embracing innovative technologies. The main purpose of these advancements is to improvise the different ways of education. This research will focus on how the use of smart technology has improved the learning ability of kindergarten students.

Topic 4: Comparing and analysing the teaching approaches and mechanisms of privately owned schools and public school: Case of developing countries

Research Aim: Due to the rise of capitalist economies, many institutions have developed unique mechanisms to improve business operations and sales. The same is the case with educational institutes. However, the teaching mechanism and approach for private schools have been more effective than public schools. Therefore, this research will critically analyse the teaching approaches and mechanisms of privately owned schools and public schools and compare and analyse their teaching approaches.

Topic 5: Analysing the current curricular development of K12 students and how it can be linked with current economic issues

Research Aim: It has been found that the curriculum of the majority of educational institutes has become obsolete and monotonous. In other words, students are not being taught current affairs and the latest knowledge with respect to technology, etc. Therefore, the main aim of this research will be to analyse the current curricular development of K12 students and how it can be moulded to reflect the true economic conditions and issues of society.

Early Childhood Education Dissertation Topics

Early childhood education in the UK and many other countries refers to any form of education that children between 2 and 6 years obtain. Some early childhood education dissertation topics are listed below:

Topic 6: The effectiveness and implementation of early childhood education curriculum interventions

Research Aim: This research will discuss how effective curriculum interventions have been in early childhood education and how they can be effectively implemented.

Topic 7: Linking theory to practice and back again: The use of collaborative enquiry and video documentation to facilitate critical thinking in preservice teacher education

Research Aim: This research will provide theoretical and practical evidence to establish how collaboration inquiry and video documentation effectively affect critical thinking in preservice education.

Topic 8: Improving early childhood literacy development and English education through the use of multiple media tools

Research Aim: This research will analyse how effective medical tools are in early childhood education.

Topic 9: Supporting emergent literacy at the preschool level through the use of technology.

Research Aim: This research will present how supportive technology can be for emergent literacy at the preschool level.

Topic 10: Merging multimodality, technology, and literacy in the era of kindergarten digital storytelling

Research Aim: This research will explore the effectiveness of multimodality, literacy, and technology in today’s era of kindergarten storytelling.

Topic 11: Computer-based reading program with at-risk pre-kindergarten students

Research Aim: This research will discuss how computer-based reading programs are at risk with pre-kindergarten students.

Topic 12: Pre-school educational settings and the nature of children’s leadership

Research Aim: This research will analyse how educational settings in preschool help develop leadership skills in children.

Topic 13: How urban students’ academic accomplishments can be influenced by a school district’s preschool education policies

Research Aim: This research will discuss the academic accomplishments of children and how educational policies influence them.

Topic 14: Investigating the relationship between kindergarten achievement and classroom quality

Research Aim: This study will investigate the relationship between kindergarten students’ achievement and education quality.

Topic 15: Creating efficient learning environments to facilitate the process of early childhood education

Research Aim: This research will understand the learning environments that facilitate the process of childhood education.

Elementary Education Dissertation Topics

In the United Kingdom and other developed regions of the world, elementary education is the first level of compulsory education that children between the ages of 6 and 13 years obtain.

Primary or elementary education helps establish history, geography, mathematics, science, and other social sciences. In some countries, basic sexual education is also part of the elementary education curriculum. Some important primary education issues to explore are listed below:

Topic 16: Establishing the factors inhibiting and enhancing elementary school children’s creativity

Research Aim: This research will discuss the factors that help enhance children’s creativity in elementary school.

Topic 17: Developing life skills in elementary school pupils in the United Kingdom (or any other country of your choice)

Research Aim: This research will explore how life skills are developed in elementary school in the UK. (Country can be changed according to your choosing)

Topic 18: Monitoring and evaluating instruction in private elementary schools in China from the perspective of headteachers and teachers.

Topic 19: including children with special educational needs in a mainstream elementary educational institute – a case study of any elementary school.

Research Aim: This research will discuss inclusive education, i.e. including special needs students in elementary school. You are free to choose the school of your choice.

Topic 20: Implementing inclusive education in elementary/primary schools in Australia – The challenges and opportunities

Research Aim: This research will discuss the challenges and opportunities of implementing inclusive education in Australian elementary schools.

Topic 21: Classroom evaluation in England – Teachers’ practices and perceptions in Maths

Research Aim: This research will evaluate a typical classroom in England. It will assess the practices adopted by math teachers in elementary school.

Topic 22: Integrating outdoor learning activities with elementary curriculum in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will analyse the results of integrating outdoor learning activities with curriculum activities.

Topic 23: Investigating the use of technology in elementary school physical education

Research Aim: This research will investigate and analyse the use of technology in elementary school physical education.

Topic 24: Investigating the impact of the age of information on current courses taught in primary school

Research Aim: This research will investigate the impact of information on courses taught in primary school.

Topic 25: Should primary schools allow their students to study more independently to achieve improved performance?

Research Aim: This research will assess whether elementary school students should be allowed to study independently and its impacts.

Read More About   Elementary Education / Primary Education

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ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service , which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Secondary Education Dissertation Topics

Secondary school education primarily covers formal education obtained by pupils between 13 and 18 years. Secondary education is compulsory in most countries, including the United Kingdom, and it may be taught in the form of Ordinary Levels, Advanced Levels, and SSC and HSC exams.

There is a wide array of research areas to be explored in this field of study, and any of the following research topics could be selected for your education dissertation.

Topic 26: Investigating the impact of teacher education on secondary education in the European Union

Research Aim: This research will investigate how secondary education in the EU is impacted by teacher education.

Topic 27: Investigating the impact of secondary school dual enrolment course participation on pupils’ academic accomplishments

Research Aim: This research will investigate the impact of dual course enrolment and its impact on academic accomplishments in secondary school.

Topic 28: The role of sustainability in learning and teaching in secondary schools to transform the soul of education

Research Aim: This study will explore the role of sustainable learning and teaching in secondary school, and it helps transform the soul of education.

Topic 29: Investigating secondary school teachers’ thinking in a professional development project

Research Aim: This research will analyse the teachers’ thinking with the help of a professional development project.

Topic 30: Betraying the college dream: How student aspirations are undermined by the disconnected post-secondary and K-12 education systems

Research Aim: The post-secondary schooling and K-12 education systems are misaligned. Thus, this research will investigate how this adversely impacts students, and as a result, more and more students are giving up on their college dreams.

Topic 31: Analysing supply & demand in light of the rising cost of secondary education

Research Aim: This research will assess and analyse the rising cost of education and its impact on the supply and demand for education.

Topic 32: To study the use of instructional and information technologies in teacher training in secondary schools and colleges in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will study the use of technologies in teacher training and how they impact secondary education in the UK.

Topic 33: Should secondary school teachers emphasise today’s demanding issues such as energy conservation, sustainability, and environmental protection?

Research Aim: This research will study whether or not teachers should emphasise current issues like energy preservation, sustainability, and environmental protection.

Topic 34: How can religious and racial tolerance increase among pupils by reintroducing religious education in the secondary schooling system?

Research Aim: This research will explore whether introducing religious education in secondary education helps decrease religious and racial intolerance.

Topic 35: To investigate the benefits of teaching business management and entrepreneurship-related courses to secondary school students over social science courses.

Research Aim:  This research will study the uses and benefits of teaching business management and entrepreneurship at the secondary schooling level.  Read More About   Secondary Education

Higher Education Dissertation Topics

Higher education or college/university education covers the formal education available to college, undergraduate and postgraduate students. Some interesting higher education dissertation topics are listed below.

Topic 36: International mobility of graduate and undergraduate students of mathematics, engineering, technology and science; Push and Pull Factors

Research Aim: This research will study and analyse the push and pull factors that impact the graduate and undergraduate students’ choice of university.

Topic 37: International graduate students and their decisions to stay or leave the US; The decisive factors

Research Aim: This study will explore the factors that lead students to decide whether they should stay or leave their universities in the US.

Topic 38: Aligning higher education to labour market requirements in the UK

Research Aim: This research will assess whether higher education in the UK should be aligned with the labour  market requirements or not.

Topic 39: Internationalisation drivers, obstacles and rationales: A case study of any higher education institute in the UK

Research Aim: This research will analyse the internationalisation drivers, obstacles, and rationales of higher education institutes in the UK.

Topic 40: An investigation into the governance systems of academic planning in both private and public sector higher education institutes

Research Aim: This research will investigate the governance systems of academic planning in both, private and public higher education institutes.

Topic 41: Higher education system: Should all universities follow the same education pattern?

Research Aim: This research will explore whether every university should follow the same educational pattern.

Topic 42: Evaluating teaching quality in higher education schools from students’ perspective

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the performance of teachers based on students’ perspectives. Suggestions will be provided as to how it should be improved.

Topic 43: Identify the factors affecting student mobility in Europe – The quality aspect

Research Aim: This research will explore the factors that impact student mobility in Europe.

Topic 44: Assessing and Evaluating the Impact of Hiring, Firing and Retiring Professors in Higher Education System on Students

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the various impacts of hiring, firing and retiring professors in the higher education system on students.

Topic 45: Do university graduates perform better than those who do not obtain formal education but have practical work experience?

Research Aim: This research will evaluate and assess the performance of two sets of students. First, university graduates, second, will be those who have no formal education but have practical work experience.  Also Read:   Fashion and Culture Dissertation Topics

Teaching Method Dissertation Topics

The role of primary, secondary or higher education teachers is highly important, particularly considering the ever-increasing need to provide a growth-oriented academic environment to students. Some interesting teaching method dissertation research topics are listed below.

Topic 46: The influence of teaching methods on students’ academic success and achievements

Research Aim: This research will explore the influence of teaching methods on students’ academic success and achievements.

Topic 47: A Transactional Method to Learning and Teaching in an English Language Arts Methodologies Conference

Research Aim: This study will explore the transactional learning and teaching method in an English language arts methodologies conference.

Topic 48: How the effect of constructivist teaching methods can largely influence the algebraic understanding of primary and secondary school students

Research Aim: This research will understand how constructivist teaching methods affect primary and secondary school students.

Topic 49: Student learning of DNA and the effect of teaching methods

Research Aim: This research will study the impact of various teaching methods on students.

Topic 50: Teaching English through conventional and direct approaches – A qualitative study

Research Aim: This will be a qualitative study that will help assess the teaching of English as a subject through direct and conventional approaches.

Topic 51: Investigating the relationships of teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, knowledge and efficiency: A multimethod approach

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, efficiency, and knowledge.

Topic 52: Exploring the benefits of employing the Socratic methodology as an approach to learning

Research Aim: This research will investigate the benefits of the Socratic method of learning approach.

Topic 53: The benefits of introducing mathematics software to higher education mathematics teachers

Research Aim: This study will explore the benefits of introducing mathematics software to higher education math teachers.

Topic 54: The increasing importance of teachers training taking into consideration various threats to students such as weapons and drugs

Research Aim: This research will understand the importance of teachers’ training with respect to threats such as drugs and weapons.

Topic 55: Are the teachers more prone to violence at the hands of their students as compared to the past: How the profession of teaching has evolved over the last twenty years

Research Aim: Purpose: This research will compare the teaching profession in the past twenty years and will conclude on how it has changed.  Read More About:   Teaching Methods in the UK

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Education Leadership and Policy Studies Dissertation Topics

The role of leadership, politics, and policies cannot be overlooked. Education leadership and policy studies have two main roots, including organisational theory and political science. This may be an interesting area of research for your educational dissertation.

Topic 56: Implementing educational change in failing middle schools through examination of one’s fundamental leadership procedures and processes

Research Aim: This research will explore the impact of implementing educational change in failing middle schools by examining leadership procedures at the institutes.

Topic 57: Historical background and development of co-curricular transcripts

Research Aim: This research will date back to history and explore how co-curricular transcripts were developed, and will compare them to today’s processes.

Topic 58: Evaluating the self-efficiency of high-performing first-generation university students

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the self-efficiency of high performing university students.

Topic 59: The influence of spiritual growth on leadership development of college and university students

Research Aim: This research will explore the influence of spiritual growth on the leadership skills development of university students.

Topic 60: The peril and power of globalisation: The Higher education, the World Bank, and the Global Knowledge Economy

Research Aim: This research will focus on the globalisation aspect of education and will talk about how it has been impacted.

Topic 61: The self-reported impact of instructional coaching on middle school teachers’ practices

Research Aim: This research will investigate the impact of instructional coaching on middle school teachers’ practices.

Topic 62: An investigation into the policies designed to address bullying in schools of the UK: The beliefs, opinions and perceptions of teachers and principals

Research Aim: This research will explore in-depth the policies that are designed to address and eliminate bullying in UK schools.

Topic 63: Investigating the causes of under-representation of black students in advanced placement courses in the USA

Research Aim: This research will explore the racial issues in the educational system of the US, i.e. underrepresentation of black students.

Topic 64: Lecture note-taking skills of adolescents with and without learning disabilities

Research Aim: This research will understand the note-taking skills of adolescents and how they differ with respect to learning.

Topic 65: A qualitative study to evaluate the educational policies in the UK

Research Aim:  This study will assess and evaluate the various educational policies in the UK.  Read More About:  Courses About International Education Leadership And Policy

Adult Education Dissertation Topics

Vocation-based or professional adult education has gained tremendous popularity in the academic world over the last couple of decades. Here is a wide range of research topics within this field of study to base your dissertation on.

Topic 66: Investing social and personal benefits and costs of basic adult education from students’ perspective

Research Aim: This research will investigate the social and personal benefits and costs of basic adult education.

Topic 67: The perception of adult learners regarding their satisfaction with their educational experiences

Research Aim: This research will explore the perception of adult learners regarding their educational experiences.

Topic 68: Use of bounded agency approach to promoting participation in adult education programmes

Research Aim: This research will discuss the bounded agency approach to promote participation in adult education programs.

Topic 69: A psychoanalytic investigation to explore adult teaching and learning theory

Research Aim: This research will conduct a psychoanalytic investigation in order to explore adult teaching and learning.

Topic 70: Comparing the perception of adult learners in face-to-face and online courses

Research Aim: This research will compare the perception of adult learners in online and face to face courses.

Topic 71: Use of Hatcher-Assagioli Synthesis to analyse practices, principles, and goals for community-based adult education

Research Aim: This research will utilise Hatcher Assagioli Synthesis to analyse community-based education practices, principles, and goals.

Topic 72: A review of the UK government spending on adult education over the last two decades

Research Aim: This research will review the UK government’s spending on adult education for two decades.

Topic 73: The relationship between unemployment and government funding for adult education – A quantitative analysis

Research Aim: This research will explore the relationship between government funding and unemployment for adult education.

Topic 74: The impact of entrepreneurship, wealth building and personal finance-related courses in adult education

Research Aim: This study will study the impact of courses like entrepreneurship, personal finance et. For adult education.

Topic 75: Frequent career changes over working life and the increasing importance of adult education in today’s world

Research Aim: This research will assess the importance of adult education and how it influences students to change their career choices frequently.

Private School Education Dissertation Topics

Private schools have become a large profit-making industry in both the developed and developing world. More and more parents want to send their children to private schools even though the expenses associated with private education are constantly on the rise. Following are some suggestions for your education dissertation research:

Topic 76: Evaluating the effectiveness of management in private schools in the UAE

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the effectiveness of private school management in the UAE.

Topic 77: To study the level of cooperation between home schools, public schools and private schools in the United Kingdom

Research Aim: This research will explore the cooperation level in home schools, and private and public schools in the UK.

Topic 78: A qualitative analysis to determine the causes of why parents choose to send their children to private schools in South Asian countries

Research Aim: This research will conduct qualitative analysis to determine why parents send their children to private schools in Asia.

Topic 79: Investigating the policies concerning the fee structure of private schools in Shanghai

Research Aim: This research will investigate the various policies that concern the fee structure of private Shanghai schools.

Topic 80: An empirical analysis of the impacts of the universal primary education policies on educational performances in South Asia

Research Aim: This research will conduct an empirical analysis to understand the impact of universal primary education policies on educational performance in the South Asian region.

Topic 81: Use of information technology and teaching tools in private schools in the UK

Research Aim: This research will explore the use of technology in private schools and assess its effectiveness.

Topic 82: Schooling for money – The Impact of the Profit motive on Swiss Educational Reform

Research Aim: This research will study the Swiss educational reform and its impact on the system.

Topic 83: Challenges and experiences of children with disabilities in private schools in India

Research Aim: This research will evaluate the challenges and experiences of children with disabilities in Indian schools.

Topic 84: Why are private school students considered to have the edge over public schools – A qualitative study

Research Aim: This will be a qualitative study on why private school students are preferred over public school students.

Topic 85: Emphasis on personality formation and character in private schools – Are private school students more competitive than public school students?

Research Aim:  This research will study the personality formation and character building of private school students.  Read More About   Private School Fee Increase for First Time.

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Public School Education Dissertation Topics

Most schools in the developed world are publicly funded, offering elementary, secondary, and higher education. There is a wide array of topics of research under this field of study that can be explored. Some of them are suggested below:

Exploring the Funding of Public Schools – How they can be improved. This research will explore the ways through which public schools are funded and will study what can be done to improve them.

Topic 86: Investigating the impact of teacher leadership in public schools in the UK

Research Aim: This research will study the impact of teacher leadership in UK public schools.

Topic 87: Is it true that public schools are better able to prepare their students to face the challenges of the real world as compared to private schools

Research Aim: This research will explore a common misconception that public school students are better prepared to face real-world challenges than private school students.

Topic 88: Can publicly-funded religious schools help to counter radicalisation and terrorism?

Research Aim: This study will explore an important topic, i.e. can terrorism and radicalisation be countered with public funding of schools.

Topic 89: Encouraging values and morals in the younger generation by reintroducing religious education in public schools in the UK

Research Aim: This research will study how reintroducing religious education help encourage values and morals in the younger generation in the UK.

Topic 90: Healthy eating habits and the role of public schools offering courses such as meal choice, cooking and home economics

Research Aim: This research will explore the benefits of cooking and home economic courses and promote healthy eating.

Topic 91: How public school students can be encouraged to participate in sporting activities?

Research Aim: This research will assess how public school students can be encouraged to participate in sporting activities.

Topic 92: The perception of special education administrators on the use of paraprofessionals in the education of students with disabilities

Topic 93: the perception of special education administrators on the use of paraprofessionals in the education of students with disabilities.

Research Aim: This research will discuss special education administrators and how they help offer quality education to disabled students.

Topic 94: Educating students with disabilities and the beliefs of public school principals

Research Aim: This research will explore the beliefs of public school principals and how these beliefs help offer quality education to disabled students.

Topic 95: Advanced teaching tools in public school classrooms – How they Help Improve Quality Education

Research Aim:  This research will explore how quality education is provided by implementing innovative technology in classrooms.

Read More About   Public Schools in the UK

Home Schooling Dissertation Topics

Homeschooling is a highly growing educational phenomenon in developed countries. Any form of education that children obtain within their home setting under the supervision of their parents/adults is classified as homeschooling. Some interesting home school dissertation topics are suggested below:

Topic 96: A qualitative study to understand the significance of the role of information technology in homeschooling

Research Aim: This research will assess the importance of information technology for homeschooling through qualitative research.

Topic 97: The advantages and disadvantages of home schooling – Do home children perform with the top private and public school students?

Research Aim: This research will assess the pros and cons of home-schooling. It will also assess the performance of home schooled-students as compared to private and public school students.

Topic 98: A qualitative analysis of socialisation and academic accomplishments among home schooled university students

Research Aim: This research will be a qualitative analysis with respect to socialisation and academic accomplishments with respect to home schooled university students.

Topic 99: Factors motivating students to choose home schooling over conventional schooling systems

Research Aim: This study will explore the factors that motivate students to opt for homeschooling over the conventional schooling system.

Topic 100: A qualitative study to understand the parental motivation for home-schooling

Research Aim: This will be a qualitative study to assess the parental motivation to home-school their children.

Topic 101: Are partnerships available in homeschooling? Exploring their Effectiveness

Research Aim: This research will explore whether partnerships are available in homeschooling or not and how beneficial they prove to be.

Topic 102: A qualitative analysis to understand the educational beliefs of home schooled pupils and their parents

Research Aim: This research will conduct a qualitative analysis to assess the educational beliefs of homeschooled students and their parents.

Topic 103: A qualitative analysis of the relationship between financial literacy and homeschooling

Research Aim: This research will assess whether there is a relationship between homeschooling and financial literacy or not.

Topic 104: The duties and responsibilities of parents concerning the homeschooling of their children

Research Aim: This research will explore the duties and responsibilities of parents with respect to the homeschooling of their children.

Topic 105: Do Homeschool Children Develop Personalities and Characters Like Private and Public Schooled Children?

Research Aim: This research will explore whether homeschooled children build strong character and confident personalities just like private and public schooled students or not.

Latest Education Dissertation Topics

• A Comparative Study on the Impact of Technology Integration on Student Learning Outcomes
• The Role of Teacher Feedback in Student Academic Achievement
• Efficacy of Differentiated Instruction in Diverse Classroom Settings
• Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Educational Attainment
• Investigating the Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Learning in Science Education
• Promoting Critical Thinking Skills Through Literature-Based Instruction
• Examining the Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Student Success
• Implementing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Urban Schools
• The Impact of Early Childhood Education Programs on Long-Term Academic Success
• The Effects of Gender Bias in Classroom Interactions on Student Achievement
• Impact of School Climate on Student Well-being and Academic Performance
• The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Teacher Effectiveness
• The Influence of Motivation on Student Engagement and Achievement
• The Impact of Peer Tutoring on Academic Achievement in Mathematics
• Exploring the Relationship Between Student-Teacher Rapport and Classroom Behaviour

Simple Ordering Process

A system that works for everyone, important notes:.

As a student of education looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing education theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

The field of education is vast and interrelated with so many other academic disciplines. That is why creating an education dissertation topic that is particular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field is imperative.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic; it is the basis of your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in  writing your dissertation , as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the very initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best education dissertation topics that fulfils your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Take a look at some of our sample education dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure Your Education Dissertation

A well-structured   dissertation can help students   to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review :  This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic in light of research questions to be addressed. The purpose is to highlight and discuss the relative weaknesses and strengths of the selected research area while identifying any research gaps. A breakdown of the topic and key terms can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology: The  data collection  and  analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes  research design, research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and  data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis: The findings  of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include  graphs ,  charts, and  tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and  Conclusion: The researcher presents his interpretation of the results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is to establish the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References:  Make sure to complete this in accordance with your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices: Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation  but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Home > College of Natural Sciences > Mathematics > Mathematics Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mathematics Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Theses/projects/dissertations from 2024 2024.

On Cheeger Constants of Knots , Robert Lattimer

Information Based Approach for Detecting Change Points in Inverse Gaussian Model with Applications , Alexis Anne Wallace

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2023 2023

DNA SELF-ASSEMBLY OF TRAPEZOHEDRAL GRAPHS , Hytham Abdelkarim

An Exposition of the Curvature of Warped Product Manifolds , Angelina Bisson

Jackknife Empirical Likelihood Tests for Equality of Generalized Lorenz Curves , Anton Butenko

MATHEMATICS BEHIND MACHINE LEARNING , Rim Hammoud

Statistical Analysis of Health Habits for Incoming College Students , Wendy Isamara Lizarraga Noriega

Reverse Mathematics of Ramsey's Theorem , Nikolay Maslov

Distance Correlation Based Feature Selection in Random Forest , Jose Munoz-Lopez

Constructing Hyperbolic Polygons in the Poincaré Disk , Akram Zakaria Samweil

KNOT EQUIVALENCE , Jacob Trubey

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2022 2022

SYMMETRIC GENERATIONS AND AN ALGORITHM TO PROVE RELATIONS , Diddier Andrade

The Examination of the Arithmetic Surface (3, 5) Over Q , Rachel J. Arguelles

Error Terms for the Trapezoid, Midpoint, and Simpson's Rules , Jessica E. Coen

de Rham Cohomology, Homotopy Invariance and the Mayer-Vietoris Sequence , Stacey Elizabeth Cox

Symmetric Generation , Ana Gonzalez

SYMMETRIC PRESENTATIONS OF FINITE GROUPS AND RELATED TOPICS , Samar Mikhail Kasouha

Simple Groups and Related Topics , Simrandeep Kaur

Homomorphic Images and Related Topics , Alejandro Martinez

LATTICE REDUCTION ALGORITHMS , Juan Ortega

THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE SPACE OF ALGEBRAIC CURVATURE TENSORS , Katelyn Sage Risinger

Verifying Sudoku Puzzles , Chelsea Schweer

AN EXPOSITION OF ELLIPTIC CURVE CRYPTOGRAPHY , Travis Severns

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Non-Abelian Finite Simple Groups as Homomorphic Images , Sandra Bahena

Matroids Determinable by Two Partial Representations , Aurora Calderon Dojaquez

SYMMETRIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FINITE GROUPS AND RELATED TOPICS , Connie Corona

Symmetric Presentation of Finite Groups, and Related Topics , Marina Michelle Duchesne

MEASURE AND INTEGRATION , JeongHwan Lee

A Study in Applications of Continued Fractions , Karen Lynn Parrish

Partial Representations for Ternary Matroids , Ebony Perez

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Sum of Cubes of the First n Integers , Obiamaka L. Agu

Permutation and Monomial Progenitors , Crystal Diaz

Tile Based Self-Assembly of the Rook's Graph , Ernesto Gonzalez

Research In Short Term Actuarial Modeling , Elijah Howells

Hyperbolic Triangle Groups , Sergey Katykhin

Exploring Matroid Minors , Jonathan Lara Tejeda

DNA COMPLEXES OF ONE BOND-EDGE TYPE , Andrew Tyler Lavengood-Ryan

Modeling the Spread of Measles , Alexandria Le Beau

Symmetric Presentations and Related Topics , Mayra McGrath

Minimal Surfaces and The Weierstrass-Enneper Representation , Evan Snyder

ASSESSING STUDENT UNDERSTANDING WHILE SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS USING FLOWCHARTS AND ALGEBRAIC METHODS , Edima Umanah

Excluded minors for nearly-paving matroids , Vanessa Natalie Vega

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Fuchsian Groups , Bob Anaya

Tribonacci Convolution Triangle , Rosa Davila

VANISHING LOCAL SCALAR INVARIANTS ON GENERALIZED PLANE WAVE MANIFOLDS , Brian Matthew Friday

Analogues Between Leibniz's Harmonic Triangle and Pascal's Arithmetic Triangle , Lacey Taylor James

Geodesics on Generalized Plane Wave Manifolds , Moises Pena

Algebraic Methods for Proving Geometric Theorems , Lynn Redman

Pascal's Triangle, Pascal's Pyramid, and the Trinomial Triangle , Antonio Saucedo Jr.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DYNAMIC MATHEMATICAL SOFTWARE IN THE INSTRUCTION OF THE UNIT CIRCLE , Edward Simons

CALCULUS REMEDIATION AS AN INDICATOR FOR SUCCESS ON THE CALCULUS AP EXAM , Ty Stockham

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2018 2018

PROGENITORS, SYMMETRIC PRESENTATIONS AND CONSTRUCTIONS , Diana Aguirre

Monomial Progenitors and Related Topics , Madai Obaid Alnominy

Progenitors Involving Simple Groups , Nicholas R. Andujo

Simple Groups, Progenitors, and Related Topics , Angelica Baccari

Exploring Flag Matroids and Duality , Zachary Garcia

Images of Permutation and Monomial Progenitors , Shirley Marina Juan

MODERN CRYPTOGRAPHY , Samuel Lopez

Progenitors, Symmetric Presentations, and Related Topics , Joana Viridiana Luna

Symmetric Presentations, Representations, and Related Topics , Adam Manriquez

Toroidal Embeddings and Desingularization , LEON NGUYEN

THE STRUGGLE WITH INVERSE FUNCTIONS DOING AND UNDOING PROCESS , Jesus Nolasco

Tutte-Equivalent Matroids , Maria Margarita Rocha

Symmetric Presentations and Double Coset Enumeration , Charles Seager

MANUAL SYMMETRIC GENERATION , Joel Webster

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Investigation of Finite Groups Through Progenitors , Charles Baccari

CONSTRUCTION OF HOMOMORPHIC IMAGES , Erica Fernandez

Making Models with Bayes , Pilar Olid

An Introduction to Lie Algebra , Amanda Renee Talley

SIMPLE AND SEMI-SIMPLE ARTINIAN RINGS , Ulyses Velasco

CONSTRUCTION OF FINITE GROUP , Michelle SoYeong Yeo

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Upset Paths and 2-Majority Tournaments , Rana Ali Alshaikh

Regular Round Matroids , Svetlana Borissova

GEODESICS IN LORENTZIAN MANIFOLDS , Amir A. Botros

REALIZING TOURNAMENTS AS MODELS FOR K-MAJORITY VOTING , Gina Marie Cheney

Solving Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities on a Number Line , Melinda A. Curtis

BIO-MATHEMATICS: INTRODUCTION TO THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS , Lucille J. Durfee

ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE REGARDING ACTIVE AND DIRECT INSTRUCTION AND THEIR PROMOTION OF FLEXIBLE THINKING IN MATHEMATICS , Genelle Elizabeth Gonzalez

LIFE EXPECTANCY , Ali R. Hassanzadah

PLANAR GRAPHS, BIPLANAR GRAPHS AND GRAPH THICKNESS , Sean M. Hearon

A Dual Fano, and Dual Non-Fano Matroidal Network , Stephen Lee Johnson

Mathematical Reasoning and the Inductive Process: An Examination of The Law of Quadratic Reciprocity , Nitish Mittal

The Kauffman Bracket and Genus of Alternating Links , Bryan M. Nguyen

Probabilistic Methods In Information Theory , Erik W. Pachas

THINKING POKER THROUGH GAME THEORY , Damian Palafox

Indicators of Future Mathematics Proficiency: Literature Review & Synthesis , Claudia Preciado

Ádám's Conjecture and Arc Reversal Problems , Claudio D. Salas

AN INTRODUCTION TO BOOLEAN ALGEBRAS , Amy Schardijn

The Evolution of Cryptology , Gwendolyn Rae Souza

Theses/Projects/Dissertations from 2015 2015

SYMMETRIC PRESENTATIONS AND RELATED TOPICS , Mashael U. Alharbi

Homomorphic Images And Related Topics , Kevin J. Baccari

Geometric Constructions from an Algebraic Perspective , Betzabe Bojorquez

Discovering and Applying Geometric Transformations: Transformations to Show Congruence and Similarity , Tamara V. Bonn

Symmetric Presentations and Generation , Dustin J. Grindstaff

HILBERT SPACES AND FOURIER SERIES , Terri Joan Harris Mrs.

SYMMETRIC PRESENTATIONS OF NON-ABELIAN SIMPLE GROUPS , Leonard B. Lamp

Simple Groups and Related Topics , Manal Abdulkarim Marouf Ms.

Elliptic Curves , Trinity Mecklenburg

A Fundamental Unit of O_K , Susana L. Munoz

CONSTRUCTIONS AND ISOMORPHISM TYPES OF IMAGES , Jessica Luna Ramirez

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Research Topics & Ideas: Education

170+ Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring education-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas , including examples from actual dissertations and theses..

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Education Research Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• List of 50+ education-related research topics/ideas
• List of 120+ level-specific research topics 
• Examples of actual dissertation topics in education
• Tips to fast-track your topic ideation (video)
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

Education-Related Research Topics & Ideas

Below you’ll find a list of education-related research topics and idea kickstarters. These are fairly broad and flexible to various contexts, so keep in mind that you will need to refine them a little. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

• The impact of school funding on student achievement
• The effects of social and emotional learning on student well-being
• The effects of parental involvement on student behaviour
• The impact of teacher training on student learning
• The impact of classroom design on student learning
• The impact of poverty on education
• The use of student data to inform instruction
• The role of parental involvement in education
• The effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom
• The use of technology in the classroom
• The role of critical thinking in education
• The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom
• The use of differentiated instruction in the classroom
• The use of gamification in education
• The effects of teacher burnout on student learning
• The impact of school leadership on student achievement
• The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
• The role of teacher collaboration in improving student outcomes
• The implementation of blended and online learning
• The effects of teacher accountability on student achievement
• The effects of standardized testing on student learning
• The effects of classroom management on student behaviour
• The effects of school culture on student achievement
• The use of student-centred learning in the classroom
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on student outcomes
• The achievement gap in minority and low-income students
• The use of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom
• The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
• The use of project-based learning in the classroom
• The effects of teacher expectations on student achievement
• The use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom
• The impact of teacher turnover on student learning
• The effects of teacher recruitment and retention on student learning
• The impact of early childhood education on later academic success
• The impact of parental involvement on student engagement
• The use of positive reinforcement in education
• The impact of school climate on student engagement
• The role of STEM education in preparing students for the workforce
• The effects of school choice on student achievement
• The use of technology in the form of online tutoring

Level-Specific Research Topics

Looking for research topics for a specific level of education? We’ve got you covered. Below you can find research topic ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary-level education contexts. Click the relevant level to view the respective list.

Research Topics: Pick An Education Level

Primary education.

• Investigating the effects of peer tutoring on academic achievement in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of mindfulness practices in primary school classrooms
• Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on primary school students’ problem-solving skills
• The use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in primary school literacy instruction
• The role of cultural diversity in promoting tolerance and understanding in primary schools
• The impact of character education programs on moral development in primary school students
• Investigating the use of technology in enhancing primary school mathematics education
• The impact of inclusive curriculum on promoting equity and diversity in primary schools
• The impact of outdoor education programs on environmental awareness in primary school students
• The influence of school climate on student motivation and engagement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of early literacy interventions on reading comprehension in primary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student achievement in primary schools
• Exploring the benefits of inclusive education for students with special needs in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of teacher-student feedback on academic motivation in primary schools
• The role of technology in developing digital literacy skills in primary school students
• Effective strategies for fostering a growth mindset in primary school students
• Investigating the role of parental support in reducing academic stress in primary school children
• The role of arts education in fostering creativity and self-expression in primary school students
• Examining the effects of early childhood education programs on primary school readiness
• Examining the effects of homework on primary school students’ academic performance
• The role of formative assessment in improving learning outcomes in primary school classrooms
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on academic outcomes in primary school
• Investigating the effects of classroom environment on student behavior and learning outcomes in primary schools
• Investigating the role of creativity and imagination in primary school curriculum
• The impact of nutrition and healthy eating programs on academic performance in primary schools
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on primary school students’ well-being and academic performance
• The role of parental involvement in academic achievement of primary school children
• Examining the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior in primary school
• The role of school leadership in creating a positive school climate Exploring the benefits of bilingual education in primary schools
• The effectiveness of project-based learning in developing critical thinking skills in primary school students
• The role of inquiry-based learning in fostering curiosity and critical thinking in primary school students
• The effects of class size on student engagement and achievement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of recess and physical activity breaks on attention and learning in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of outdoor play in developing gross motor skills in primary school children
• The effects of educational field trips on knowledge retention in primary school students
• Examining the effects of inclusive classroom practices on students’ attitudes towards diversity in primary schools
• The impact of parental involvement in homework on primary school students’ academic achievement
• Investigating the effectiveness of different assessment methods in primary school classrooms
• The influence of physical activity and exercise on cognitive development in primary school children
• Exploring the benefits of cooperative learning in promoting social skills in primary school students

Secondary Education

• Investigating the effects of school discipline policies on student behavior and academic success in secondary education
• The role of social media in enhancing communication and collaboration among secondary school students
• The impact of school leadership on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of technology integration on teaching and learning in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in promoting critical thinking skills in secondary schools
• The impact of arts education on creativity and self-expression in secondary school students
• The effectiveness of flipped classrooms in promoting student learning in secondary education
• The role of career guidance programs in preparing secondary school students for future employment
• Investigating the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student autonomy and academic success in secondary schools
• The impact of socio-economic factors on educational attainment in secondary education
• Investigating the impact of project-based learning on student engagement and academic achievement in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of multicultural education on cultural understanding and tolerance in secondary schools
• The influence of standardized testing on teaching practices and student learning in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior and academic engagement in secondary education
• The influence of teacher professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of extracurricular activities in promoting holistic development and well-roundedness in secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models on student engagement and achievement in secondary education
• The role of physical education in promoting physical health and well-being among secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of gender on academic achievement and career aspirations in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of multicultural literature in promoting cultural awareness and empathy among secondary school students
• The impact of school counseling services on student mental health and well-being in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of vocational education and training in preparing secondary school students for the workforce
• The role of digital literacy in preparing secondary school students for the digital age
• The influence of parental involvement on academic success and well-being of secondary school students
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on secondary school students’ well-being and academic success
• The role of character education in fostering ethical and responsible behavior in secondary school students
• Examining the effects of digital citizenship education on responsible and ethical technology use among secondary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of educational technology in promoting personalized learning experiences in secondary schools
• The impact of inclusive education on the social and academic outcomes of students with disabilities in secondary schools
• The influence of parental support on academic motivation and achievement in secondary education
• The role of school climate in promoting positive behavior and well-being among secondary school students
• Examining the effects of peer mentoring programs on academic achievement and social-emotional development in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and achievement in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement among secondary school students
• The impact of educational policies on educational equity and access in secondary education
• Examining the effects of homework on academic achievement and student well-being in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of different assessment methods on student performance in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of single-sex education on academic performance and gender stereotypes in secondary schools
• The role of mentoring programs in supporting the transition from secondary to post-secondary education

Tertiary Education

• The role of student support services in promoting academic success and well-being in higher education
• The impact of internationalization initiatives on students’ intercultural competence and global perspectives in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of active learning classrooms and learning spaces on student engagement and learning outcomes in tertiary education
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning experiences in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility in higher education
• The influence of learning communities and collaborative learning environments on student academic and social integration in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of undergraduate research experiences in fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills
• Investigating the effects of academic advising and mentoring on student retention and degree completion in higher education
• The role of student engagement and involvement in co-curricular activities on holistic student development in higher education
• The impact of multicultural education on fostering cultural competence and diversity appreciation in higher education
• The role of internships and work-integrated learning experiences in enhancing students’ employability and career outcomes
• Examining the effects of assessment and feedback practices on student learning and academic achievement in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty-student relationships on student success and well-being in tertiary education
• The impact of college transition programs on students’ academic and social adjustment to higher education
• The impact of online learning platforms on student learning outcomes in higher education
• The impact of financial aid and scholarships on access and persistence in higher education
• The influence of student leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities on personal development and campus engagement
• Exploring the benefits of competency-based education in developing job-specific skills in tertiary students
• Examining the effects of flipped classroom models on student learning and retention in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of online collaboration and virtual team projects in developing teamwork skills in tertiary students
• Investigating the effects of diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus climate and student experiences in tertiary education
• The influence of study abroad programs on intercultural competence and global perspectives of college students
• Investigating the effects of peer mentoring and tutoring programs on student retention and academic performance in tertiary education
• Investigating the effectiveness of active learning strategies in promoting student engagement and achievement in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models and hybrid courses on student learning and satisfaction in higher education
• The role of digital literacy and information literacy skills in supporting student success in the digital age
• Investigating the effects of experiential learning opportunities on career readiness and employability of college students
• The impact of e-portfolios on student reflection, self-assessment, and showcasing of learning in higher education
• The role of technology in enhancing collaborative learning experiences in tertiary classrooms
• The impact of research opportunities on undergraduate student engagement and pursuit of advanced degrees
• Examining the effects of competency-based assessment on measuring student learning and achievement in tertiary education
• Examining the effects of interdisciplinary programs and courses on critical thinking and problem-solving skills in college students
• The role of inclusive education and accessibility in promoting equitable learning experiences for diverse student populations
• The role of career counseling and guidance in supporting students’ career decision-making in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty diversity and representation on student success and inclusive learning environments in higher education

Education-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in education, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses in the education space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of education-related research projects to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• From Rural to Urban: Education Conditions of Migrant Children in China (Wang, 2019)
• Energy Renovation While Learning English: A Guidebook for Elementary ESL Teachers (Yang, 2019)
• A Reanalyses of Intercorrelational Matrices of Visual and Verbal Learners’ Abilities, Cognitive Styles, and Learning Preferences (Fox, 2020)
• A study of the elementary math program utilized by a mid-Missouri school district (Barabas, 2020)
• Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective (Burcks, 2019)
• Higher education students services: a qualitative study of two mid-size universities’ direct exchange programs (Kinde, 2020)
• Exploring editorial leadership : a qualitative study of scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri secondary schools (Lewis, 2020)
• Selling the virtual university: a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning (Ludwig, 2020)
• Advocacy and accountability in school counselling: assessing the use of data as related to professional self-efficacy (Matthews, 2020)
• The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district (Scarbrough, 2020)
• Core values driving sustained elite performance cultures (Beiner, 2020)
• Educative features of upper elementary Eureka math curriculum (Dwiggins, 2020)
• How female principals nurture adult learning opportunities in successful high schools with challenging student demographics (Woodward, 2020)
• The disproportionality of Black Males in Special Education: A Case Study Analysis of Educator Perceptions in a Southeastern Urban High School (McCrae, 2021)

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

Get 1-On-1 Help

If you’re still unsure about how to find a quality research topic within education, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic.

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The future of mathematics education since COVID-19: humans-with-media or humans-with-non-living-things

• Published: 27 April 2021
• Volume 108 , pages 385–400, ( 2021 )

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• Marcelo C. Borba 1  

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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the agenda of mathematics education. This change will be analyzed by looking at three trends in mathematics education: the use of digital technology, philosophy of mathematics education, and critical mathematics education. Digital technology became a trend in mathematics education in response to the arrival of a different kind of artifact to the mathematics classroom. It was thrust into the spotlight as the pandemic suddenly moved classrooms online around the world. Challenges specific to mathematics education in this context must be addressed. The link between the COVID-19 pandemic and digital technology in education also raises epistemological issues highlighted by philosophy of mathematics education and critical mathematics education. Using the notion that the basic unit of knowledge production throughout history is humans-with-media, I discuss how humans are connected to the virus, how it has laid bare social inequality, and how it will change the agendas of these three trends in mathematics education. I highlight the urgent need to study how mathematics education happens online for children when the home environment and inequalities in access to digital technologies assume such significant roles as classes move on-line. We need to understand the political role of agency of artifacts such as home in collectives of humans-with-media-things, and finally we need to learn how to implement curricula that address social inequalities. This discussion is intertwined with examples.

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1 Introduction

It is not possible to predict the state of the COVID-19 crisis at the time this article reaches the reader. The effects of the pandemic, and the response to it, have been shocking—with lockdowns, masks, and respirators, etc.—and have left most people at a loss. Some “world leaders” say that the virus is “just a cold,” while others say we may take months or years to have things “back to normal.” There are even those who say that COVID-19 is just a test for a much more serious health crisis that may be still to come. What is certain is that throughout the world, things have changed dramatically and suddenly. The virus has hit all classes of society, though of course it has hit the poor harder. But what are the effects of the pandemic in mathematics education? One effect that was almost universal was a tendency to “go online”: shop online, meet friends online, and learn online.

We have moved online because COVID-19 is caused by an invisible virus; it has no cure; and, without a clear pattern, it can cause the death of one person in a few days and cause almost no symptoms in another. Moreover, one may be infected and transmitting but asymptomatic for several days and then become very ill all of a sudden. Though not all “leaders” have taken their advice, most experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend social isolation as the main tool to control, slow down, and hopefully stop the pandemic. All of a sudden, teachers, professors, and educational managers at all levels were put under pressure to develop (mathematics) education online, as the virus can be transmitted through physical contact—both between humans and between humans and non-living things.

Since the beginning of the official history of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) in 1908, only war has interrupted the International Meetings of Mathematics Education (ICME), according to Menghini et al. ( 2008 ). This year, the ICMI decided to suspend ICME-14 Footnote 1 for a different reason: due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus, traveling and gathering in groups would be unsafe. Some would say that ICME-14 was suspended due to a different kind of war: instead of generals in the background, and soldiers in the field, ready to kill or die, we have the whole of humanity trying to fight this non-living being, a virus. It is debatable whether the war metaphor is appropriate or not for this health crisis, but terminology aside, the crisis can lead us to some reflection on mathematics education. This essay will raise some questions to the mathematics education community that were caused by this non-living-thing: the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

Engelbrecht et al. ( 2020 ) reported that they had to change the conclusion of their survey paper on digital technology in March to April of this year, as it occurred to the authors that the paper could become dated even sooner than other digital technology survey papers. In normal times, such papers become old because digital technology changes so fast, and we rarely even have the time to implement a given technology in the classroom before a new one comes up. However, at this point, everything may become outdated, because we cannot predict the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis, nor whether a new crisis will follow it. The authors decided to include discussion about COVID-19 in the introduction and conclusion of the paper. At the end of the paper, they write:

The question is, what has this [COVID-19] to do with mathematics education and digital technology? Besides the impact on conferences and on the transforming mathematics classroom we may have to ask broader questions: Digital technology intensified traveling and our way of living, so it is also partly responsible for the present crisis. Is it possible that the use of digital technology can generate a similar crisis in mathematics education? Conversely, if the crisis lasts for a long period, would digital technologies be able to provide alternative ways to implement mathematics education? There is not much research on online mathematics education for young children, but if the crisis lasts for a long time, are we going to implement it without sufficient research? If the current crisis is over soon, are we going to develop research on mathematics education for a possible “COVID-2X” crisis? In this paper, among others, we have anthropomorphized media, talking about agency. The notion of humans-with-media as the collective that produces knowledge, may synthesize it, as we discussed in this paper. The COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) is a non-living being: can we talk about the impact (agency) of COVID-19 on mathematics education and on the world? Engelbrecht et al. ( 2020 , p.838)

This paper will deal with the questions from this excerpt in the following sense: I will discuss how new trends of mathematics education may arise or change with the ongoing crisis, and I will draft responses to some of these questions. Trends in mathematics education can be understood as a response, an answer, to some problem, as suggested by D'Ambrosio and Borba ( 2010 ). A working group, or a conference on a given trend within mathematics education, emerges as a response to new demands. I will use the theoretical construct of humans-with-media to connect the COVID-19 crisis to three different trends: the use of digital technology, philosophy of mathematics education, and critical mathematics education. In the context of the trend of digital technology, I will discuss the possibilities and drawbacks of having more and more online education, as well as the new demand for this trend. In doing so, I will revisit the notion of humans-with-media and its perspective of collective knowledge production involving humans and non-human actors such as computers and SARS-CoV-2. This will put new issues on the agenda for philosophy of mathematics education, focusing on the agency of “things” and humans’ relation to this virus thing. Finally, I will give a brief history of the trend of critical mathematics education, and I will raise an agenda provoked by COVID-19 for these three trends in mathematics education. I believe that these discussions may be important for us to understand the moment we are living in, beyond mathematics education itself. They can also help to set an agenda of research and action in the classroom for those interested in these trends and their connection to the pandemic.

2 Digital technology and mathematics education

Taking into consideration the notion of trends, presented above, the trend that studies the link of mathematics education and “new technologies”—informatics, communication and information digital technology, and alike—has been present in conferences for more than 30 years. At ERME Footnote 2 and SBEM Footnote 3 (Borba, 2018 ), at ICMEs (Menghini et al., 2008 ), and at PME Footnote 4 , there are always working groups, discussion groups, and panels on the subject, because, as authors such as Jim Kaput ( 1991 ,  1992 ,  1998 ) have pointed out, we need to understand how to use computers in mathematics education. Borba et al. ( 2016 ) prepared a survey that was presented at ICME-13 and put forward four phases for the use of digital technology in mathematics education. The four phases themselves show the strength and the length of this movement, which has involved many researchers, teachers, and students.

The first two phases, symbolized, respectively, by Logo and by curriculum-topic software (e.g., Cabri-Géomèetre), are not so important for the discussion in this paper, as the Internet became the big star during the pandemic. The third phase of the use of digital technology was characterized by the emergence of the Internet and online courses. This phenomenon became important around the turn of the century, depending on the country. Some so-called developed countries saw the Internet become popular in the mid-1990s and in some other countries, like Brazil, very early this century. Brazil was one of the first countries to start online courses at the graduate level, at a time when other countries were very protective of their face-to-face education.

The current fourth phase is characterized by the arrival of fast Internet, which reshaped the possibilities of online education. As this phase has developed, Engelbrecht et al. ( 2020 ) have pointed out that different forms of blended learning are important, in particular for teacher education. The term “hybrid” has become more important to express the combination of face-to-face mathematics education and online education:

A wide array of media and technology is available to create new hybrid forms of teaching. The integration of technology enables educators to create learning experiences that actively and meaningfully pull students into course content. “This technology may form thinking collectives (Lévy, 1993 ) with teachers that can break the walls of the regular “cubic” classroom that is associated with lecturing.” (Engelbrecht et al., 2020 , p.838)

If we consider a trend as an effort to find answers to a given issue, COVID-19 has pushed forward the agenda of the digital technology trend in mathematics education. With the need for social isolation, it became necessary to offer education to children and undergraduates at home. In most of the world, the first semester of education in 2020 was suspended or went online. Many are now discussing different kinds of hybrid education as health conditions allow students and teachers to go back to school and universities. But although we have plenty of research on implementing education online on undergraduate education (Engelbrecht & Harding, 2002 , 2004 , 2005 ), this is not the case for education for children. In the survey articles mentioned above, and in conference working groups, hardly any research has been presented on online education for children. As this theme develops, (mathematics) education will have to deal with structural issues, such as the participation of parents or responsible others in education.

In Brazil, newspapers say that teachers are “going crazy” with demands from students coming from WhatsApp and other social networks, as students and parents in their home cannot deal with school tasks. Grading is another problem: can we grade students so young online? Is help from parents allowed? This type of question has not yet been researched. In Brazil, some research groups such as GPIMEM Footnote 5 are trying to document what is happening in some state systems as a first step for research and understanding of online education for children. In the state of São Paulo, a new app, CMSP Footnote 6 , was created in less than 30 days for 200 thousand teachers and 3.5 million students to somehow have access to education. The app operates in conjunction with two preexisting TV channels, one operated by the state and another by a consortium of universities (Paz, 2020 ).

Teachers and administrators were able to supervise students through the app to some degree, and students were having three classes a day instead of five, as the state is trying to implement education through other platforms as well (Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Department of Education)—SEED, 2020 ). But this was a very complex moment: teachers had to go online without enough time to be prepared, and at the same time, they had to deal with their regular problems: São Paulo is the richest state in Brazil but pays its teachers a terribly low salary compared to other professionals, as pointed out to me in an online interview with a teacher who preferred to stay anonymous. Underpaid teachers now have to deal with students 24 h a day, 7 days a week, which includes dealing with students’ “personal” problems—including problems associated with the chronic social inequality in Brazil. Teachers with low salaries are not likely to have the best mobile phones, laptops, or Internet plans. Teachers who may teach fifty 50-min classes a week may deal with hundreds of students. It is likely that such problems are occurring in other countries as well, as differences between the “haves” and “have-nots” exist throughout the world, and are amplified by COVID-19, as described by the historian Walter Scheidel (Canzian, 2020 ).

Crisis is also a chance for change: teachers who teach 50 classes per week will not have time to learn to use digital technology for teaching. With many states and city educational systems forced to go online because of the pandemic crisis, the argument to use technology is very strong. It is likely that we will have a lot of research associated with this new reality. For the purposes of this article, I was not able to collect data systematically, but informal reports from teachers suggest that the reality of teaching young teenagers and children online will have to be investigated. As mentioned before, there is hardly any research on online education associated with levels below high school, which can be verified in many survey papers related to the theme (Engelbrecht et al., 2020 ). But the focus cannot only be on teachers. How do children experience this version of home schooling? There are also many jokes on social networks about parents losing control as they become home-teachers at the same time as they had to implement the home-office, so the role of parents in online mathematics education may be another area for research. Involvement of parents in mathematics education has been a theme of some research, including involvement associated with the use of digital technology (Ford, 2015 ; Wilson, 2013 ). However, this was in informal or blended settings, such as festivals (Domingues, 2020 ). Now we have new challenges, including to report and discuss how online assessment was developed (or not developed). Inviting students to produce mathematical videos was a research project developed before the pandemic. Having students expressing mathematical knowledge with videos, or doing research with videos, was not a solid trend in the literature. However, video production may be an alternative for education during and after the pandemic. Instead of focusing on test results, we can have students producing videos online to express what they have learned in conditions such as the pandemic. Videos can be produced collectively, with help of parents, friends, and different media. Differences in resources, including degree of parental aid received, can be considered by teachers and school systems in a “non-ranking” type of assessment.

Production of digital mathematical videos by students and teachers is growing in Brazil (see Fig. 1 for an example), and with the onset of the pandemic, an online “library” with more than 600 videos ( https://www.festivalvideomat.com/ ) has been used as a resource for teachers and students in their classes and as inspiration for the kind of task students and teacher may produce. Moreover, issues that have been the subject of previous research may gain new life: in a recent review paper (Engelbrecht et al., 2020 ), it became clear that different technologies used in a class, from the blackboard to the most modern mobile phone, are not necessarily only mediators but also actors. This is an epistemological issue, and it is part of a trend that has been discussed within the psychology of mathematics education and the philosophy of mathematics education.

Mud Sea: Modelling and Mathematics Education. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpCteGqjxd0&list=PLiBUAR5Cdi63gZoTSrJ9qXeiZQEH2wFBL

3 Philosophy of mathematics education and agency in the notion of humans-with-media

“Why do we have education? What are the relations between education and society? How do we know?” These are the basic questions of philosophy of education. For more than 20 years, there have been working groups on the philosophy of mathematics education (Bicudo & Garnica, 2001 ). “How do we learn?” is connected to “How do we know?,” and thus questions regarding epistemology, the theory of knowing, have also been debated by psychology of mathematics education discussion groups. Both domains of research may be seen as trends, as they seek foundations for mathematics education, and they discuss how mathematics education is articulated in the classroom, the research that is developed about it, and its “return” to practical settings: settings, like the classroom, which for many months have been on hold by the coronavirus pandemic. Several authors have discussed classrooms and schools and the artifacts produced there. For example, Villarreal and Borba ( 2010 ) have shown how mathematics is produced by collectives of humans-with-artifacts throughout the history of mathematics.

D'Ambrosio and Borba ( 2010 ), besides conceptualizing a “trend” as a response to a given problem, have argued that trends are intertwined, using the metaphor of a tapestry. It is unsurprising, then, that the discussion about who is the agent of knowledge is discussed in more than one trend: in digital technology working groups and in philosophy of mathematics education and psychology of mathematics education discussion groups or conferences. Different mathematics education authors (e.g., Faggiano et al., 2017 ) have claimed that computers, for instance, have agency. Inspired by the work of Lévy ( 1993 ) and on the phenomenological approach that humans are “being-with-others,” the notion of humans-with-media has been developed over the course of many years. The notion of reciprocal modeling was the first step (Borba, 1993 ). My early work on this showed not only that different media shape humans (an idea shared with many) but also gave some empirical evidence of how humans shape technology, specifically a piece of software about functions. Being part of the design software team and a mathematics educator developing research, I could see this “collaboration” between, on the one hand, a piece of software—full of the ideas of a multidisciplinary team, presented at meetings of developers, mathematics educators, teachers, and so on—and, on the other hand, how high school students would interact with the software (and with me, a teacher-researcher). A high school student, for instance, was influenced by what I said and by the design of the piece of software Function Probe (Confrey, 1991 ), and he also shaped the piece of software in ways that were not predicted by the multidisciplinary team that had developed the software. This student did not use the commands the design team had created but used the size of the computer screen and other measuring artifacts to coordinate algebra and graphs. Borba and Villarreal ( 2005 ) synthesized how the notion of humans-with-media could be understood based on the work of Lévy ( 1993 ), Lave ( 1988 ), and Tikhomirov ( 1981 ). This led to the notion that knowing was not social solely in the sense that it involves more than one person, but that it also involves things.

The notion of humans-with-media was proposed to emphasize that production of knowledge is a result of a collective of humans and things. From Tikhomirov and Lave came the idea that knowing was goal oriented and that values were involved. Later, in Borba ( 2012 ), discussions about the values, emotions, and media involved in knowing mathematics with GeoGebra (or whatever software was available) were extended to the idea that media and technology themselves change notions of what humans are. Media are therefore constitutive not only of what we know but also of what we are. Kaptelinin and Nardi ( 2006 ) also analyzed the idea of extending agency to non-humans. These authors compared the capacities to produce effects, act, and fulfill intentions of different agents: things (natural), things (cultural), non-human living beings (natural), non-human living beings (cultural), and human beings as social entities.

Agency, therefore, should not be seen as binary, as either present or absent, but having different levels. I see this notion of agency as a “fuzzy” one, as in fuzzy mathematics, in which we may have degrees of agency. In such a mathematics, for instance, my jeans are not just blue or not (zero or one), but they are, for instance, 0.6 blue. Kaptelinin and Nardi ( 2006 ) suggest three dimensions of agency: based on necessity (action is taken based on biological and cultural reasons), delegated (things or living beings act as the perceived intentions that are delegated by other humans and things), and conditional (actions of things or people which result in unintended effects).

The notion of humans-with-media, which is consistent with a more complex view of agency, has been challenged, in many instances, by arguments that want to preserve the power of a human as the center of any action. In these views, intentionality and action come from somewhere that is not social. Much of mathematics education, cognitivist or not, is based on such a “one-knower” view. From such a perspective, the agent of knowing is a single person, or collective of humans, even though most researchers would recognize the influence of artifacts, environment, and social cultural factors.

The notion that both humans and non-humans have agency is part of an effort to model artifacts—in particular, pieces of software, hardware, and the Internet of Things (i.e., things that are connected to the Internet)—as the historical, social, and cultural factors in the collective that produces knowledge. It stresses a view that knowledge is produced (both from a philosophical and a psychological perspective) by humans-with-artifacts. With a perspective in which things have agency, artifacts are labeled media as they are thought to communicate. This argument was more easily applied for technologies of intelligence (Lévy, 1993 ): humans-with-graphing-calculators were easier to accept as having agency than humans-with-libraries or humans-with-classrooms.

Regardless of whether readers value online mathematics education or not, they may at some point use their memory of a regular classroom to claim that face-to-face interaction is fundamental to any learning that occurs in mathematics education. Alternatively, one may use the notion of a “distributed classroom”: an office for one student, the bedroom for another, and some kind of computer center for others. But everyone would recognize that classrooms are changing. We have described this as a classroom in movement (Borba et al., 2014 ).

What constitutes the unit of knowing is an endless, philosophical discussion: is it a single person? Is it social because it involves more than one person? Is it social because it has a goal and it involves humans and non-human actors? It is an endless discussion, like most philosophical discussions. However, it seems that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 gives strength to one perspective on knowing because, according to authors such as Racaniello ( 2004 , p.1), “Viruses are not living things. Viruses are complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living cell. Without cells, viruses would not be able to multiply. Therefore, viruses are not living things.” Yet despite being non-living, the virus has dramatically changed the way humans live. Viruses are closely connected to us: they cannot exist for long apart from living things, like humans, who have cells; the symptoms of COVID-19 arise under certain conditions when the virus is inside human cells. We can say that the virus has agency in the sense that it has changed the way we have to do things. This analogy helps us to understand how certain things are much more likely to happen if certain actors are present. To use the metaphor of the virus, software also needs humans to “survive.” Software, and later on the Internet, has changed the environment of educational settings, in a similar way to how SARS-CoV-2 has suddenly turned children’s bedrooms into classrooms.

Latour ( 2020a , b ), another inspiration for the notion of humans-with-media, presents his concern with the virus crisis in a way that relates to the discussion in this paper:

But there is another reason why the figure of the “war against the virus” is so unjustified: in the health crisis, it may be true that humans as a whole are “fighting” against viruses — even if they have no interest in us and go their way from throat to throat killing us without meaning to. The situation is tragically reversed in ecological change: this time, the pathogen whose terrible virulence has changed the living conditions of all the inhabitants of the planet is not the virus at all, it is humanity! But this does not apply to all humans, just those who make war on us without declaring war on us. For this war, the national state is as ill-prepared, as badly calibrated, as badly designed as possible because the battle fronts are multiple and cross each one of us. It is in this sense that the “general mobilization” against the virus does not prove in any way that we will be ready for the next one. It is not only the military that is always one war behind. (Latour, 2020a , b , para.8)

Latour, without saying so explicitly, foregrounds the agency of this virus: SARS-CoV-2 spreads through humans to survive and reproduce, and this action provokes reaction—agency—from humans. Of course, every comparison or metaphor has its limits. But the coronavirus has transformed our lives—we still do not know for how long—in a dramatic way. Computers—now represented by mobile phones, which are much more potent computers than the ones used at the end of the last century by the minority of students who had access to them—have changed the way we can experience mathematics, in particular the way we can “experiment” with mathematics. The Internet has become a community, an agent, and an artifact. Videos that are produced and shared by students with digital technology soon themselves become a part of new collectives of humans and media that are involved in producing knowledge. Souto and Borba (Souto & Borba, 2016 , 2018 ) have discussed how the notion of humans-with-media, which had its origins in activity theory (Tikhomirov, 1981 ), is now about to change the third generation of activity theory, breaking the rigidity of the triangles espoused by Engeström ( 2002 ) and Sannino and Engeström ( 2018 ) (Fig. 2 ).

This version of the humans-with-media construction has been called system-of-humans-with-media (Souto & Borba, 2018 ) to emphasize even more the notion that the collective of humans and non-humans is goal oriented and embedded in a community that has rules (Fig. 2 ). Considering media as agent has made it possible to think of the rigid triangles of the third generation of activity theory as dancing triangles, or as a GIF, in which the Internet, for instance, could be jumping from the instrument corner to the subject corner and/or to the community corner. Such an animation can be found on the GPIMEM website, in order to overcome the limits of the printed text ( https://igce.rc.unesp.br/#!/pesquisa/gpimem---pesq-em-informatica-outras-midias-e-educacao-matematica/animacoes/triangulo-sannino--engestrom/ ).

The structure of an activity system. Source: Sannino & Engeström, 2018

It is hard to know, as mentioned before, where the developments of the current health crisis will take us, but it seems that thinking about agency of non-living things as discussed in this section will be part of it. Questioning what the definition of “living things” is may be another consequence, which, of course, goes beyond what has been called the psychology of mathematics education or philosophy of mathematics education. But it will be relevant to some questions that perhaps were put aside or never asked before, questions such as: What are the specific roles of spaces/artifacts such as the classroom, face-to-face environments made for the intense use of Internet in education, and the “online classroom?” If the pandemic lasts even longer, what do we really mean by “face-to-face?” What does it mean to discuss affection in mathematics education without physical contact (e.g., hand shaking, hugging, kissing the cheek), so important in many parts of the world? The whole discussion about humans-with-media may gain a new dimension, as suggested in this section, related to some of the basic questions of philosophy of (mathematics) education. The pandemic foregrounds the role of home and the role of different parents and different social conditions in collectives that construct knowledge, in activity systems that produce knowledge. The idea of seeing fuzzy agency in non-humans should be developed further to include not only good access to internet, but to housing, which is a site of brutal inequality in Brazil and elsewhere. This famous photo (Fig. 3 ) illustrates the extent of inequality in Brazil, which, from the educational point of view, suggests that different housing may have different agency in constructions of knowledge, in particular in situations such as the one we lived during the pandemic. Housing matters in knowledge construction. Trying to solve a mathematics problem in a crowded house in a slum is very different than doing so in a spacious, luxurious apartment with a veranda.

Social inequality. Source: Of “Com 1% do país concentrando 28% da renda, Brasil não tem como dar certo...” L. Sakamoto, 2020. Recovered from https://noticias.uol.com.br/colunas/leonardo-sakamoto/2020/12/15/com-1-do-pais-concentrando-28-da-renda-brasil-nao-tem-como-dar-certo.htm?fbclid=IwAR3cAed7k9bb4qhHWhi7uAtZVhgCLFz9J-yx1dPuoW5rAS1xqVfgey6YrOc

In this sense, SARS-CoV-2 has pushed homes into the center of a collective that produces knowledge. Once again, we ask all the basic questions of the philosophy of mathematics education and psychology of mathematics education. What is the role of mathematics education? What is the role of the different education of parents in mathematics education? What is the role of non-living things, such as viruses, pieces of software, and homes, in the way we know and learn mathematics? A question that may be more critical is: What is the role of mathematics education for resisting inequality in the world?

4 Critical mathematics education and coronavirus

The trend of critical mathematics education (CME) responds to the main problem of social inequality in (mathematics) education and struggles against the view that mathematics is a branch of science that is separate from social, cultural, and political issues. CME’s role in the community of mathematics education is to remind us all about social inequality and other types of inequalities. CME may be said to have been officially born in 1990, in a meeting at the Cornell University in the USA (Powell, 2012 ; Torisu, 2017 ). There, the Critical Mathematics Educators Group was founded, with several members Footnote 7 , focusing on the key phrase “social justice.” Powell ( 2012 ) reports on how at ICME 6, in Budapest, Hungary, there was a meeting of researchers and how after the Cornell meeting, the group began to meet regularly, starting at ICME 7, in Quebec, Canada.

Present at the Quebec meeting was Skovsmose ( 1994 ), who also wrote about the development of critical mathematics education in Europe. Skovsmose shows the connection of this branch of CME in Europe to the Frankfurt School of Critical Education, one of the main representatives of which was Adorno, whose main issue was seeking an education that would prevent Nazism from occurring again. Today, critical mathematics education is more than important, in a moment in which countries such as the USA, Brazil, and Italy have far-right or fascist leaders, who have praised some of the fascist leaders of the twentieth century.

In the Cornell meeting, issues of social inequality, the role of mathematics in society, the ideology of certainty, and research methodologies appropriate to CME were presented (Borba, 1991 ; Borba & Skovsmose, 1996 ; Skovsmose & Borba, 2004 ). Since the 1990s, in Africa, authors such as Paulus Gerdes, from Mozambique, developed curricula and research about African traditions in mathematics and how to incorporate them into mathematics education (Gerdes, 2010 ; Torisu, 2017 ).

Development of curricula and pedagogical perspectives that highlight social inequality, gender and racial inequity, and the ideology of certainty was the initial focus of CME. More recently, environmental issues, and issues that were treated in other trends (e.g., mathematics education to the deaf or the blind), were brought into the agenda of CME. In sum, CME is a trend that shows that education is not neutral: it can promote equality or inequality. There are indicators already from Forbes that social inequality is growing during this pandemic: the billionaires are becoming even richer (Gavioli, 2020 ). The owners of Facebook and Amazon are among them! There is no need to be a mathematician to understand that this concentration of wealth upward means that the rest of the people have less. The owners of tech companies stand to gain as people move more and more online: their companies run online social networks, run online shopping services, and store digital data in online systems worldwide.

As I have already illustrated, social inequality is also growing in schools. As most schools and universities suspend face-to-face classes and go online one way or another, the issue of access has been a barrier to some and a trampoline to even more social inequality. Some universities in Brazil even opted not to resume education online because of inequitable access; but of course, as the university is not the only source of knowledge, online education also may have caused more social inequality. Here is an example from (mathematics) education in Brazil of a Catholic school located on the outskirts of a midtown city in the state of Sao Paulo: the school does not charge tuition for students, as parents do not earn enough income to feed their families; violence is also part of the daily experiences of these children. Teachers are paid above average (considering Brazilian standards), and from interviews with them, it is easy to see their engagement in fighting social inequality. Classes were first suspended in mid-March 2020 and resumed online afterwards, at different moments of April, depending on the school. Two teachers, Luiz Felipe Trovão (mathematics educator) and Karla Cristina Stropa Goulart (science educator), who were asked to answer an open question about their experience with teaching during the pandemic, reported how hard it was to communicate with students. Most students did not have access to the Internet. When they had access, they did not have the money to buy credits to operate the Internet Footnote 8 . The school tried to overcome this problem by providing chips with credits or sending printed didactical material to the children. But with less interaction with teachers, and without an environment to study in poor homes, through no fault of the teachers or the school, very little mathematics education or science education occurred. Trovão said that it is almost impossible to teach geometry online without proper interaction: homes, Internet access, etc.

The billionaires are becoming even richer; the poor are having even more difficulty accessing mathematics education: this may foreground the need that children will have, after the pandemic, to understand what happened. Mathematics educators may have to explore some tough topics: exponential functions to explain the spread of the coronavirus and how the richest grew even richer. Mathematics will not be enough, but a new agenda will be generated. Freire’s ( 1968 ) work about the pedagogy of the oppressed will be even more important. Putting together the agenda for the three trends, one should consider, for example, the role that home, as a physical and emotional “thing,” has in the pandemic school. We have collectives of home-parents-internet-student-teacher as the minimal unit of the collective agent who produces knowledge. Home and parents, things and humans, have added more to social inequality and to discussions about how to use digital technology in mathematics education.

Humans-with-media, seen as an activity system, provides a dynamic epistemological view that we can use to understand the different social aspects (in the micro- and macrolevels) of the research of digital technology. Simultaneously, in acknowledging agency in a wide variety of things, not only computers, it will be possible to structurally show social inequality: homes equipped differently cannot be assessed the same way. Children will suffer even more injustice than they suffer in school, if differences in Internet access, the comfort of home, etc., are not considered in assessment and teaching. Research under this frame, in digital technology, critical mathematics education, assessment, ethnomathematics, and other trends, may help to bring light to more epistemological discussion that is not value-free.

5 The three trends interacting

During the pandemic, “Lives” have become a craze in Brazil: presentations streamed over the Internet by artists, educators, and others. First, artists began holding Live presentations to incentivize people to stay at home. Soon after, other types of workers, such as mathematics educators, started holding our own Live presentations. During this pandemic, I have given many Lives produced by collectives that included Geogebra, the Internet, my home, and various broadcast software. The discussions of the mathematics of the pandemic and the sigmoid curve and its derivative were used in possibly thirty Lives. Figure 4 is a screenshot from a short video that shows this curve dynamically: https://igce.rc.unesp.br/#!/pesquisa/gpimem---pesq-em-informatica-outras-midias-e-educacao-matematica/animacoes/curva-epidemica-no-geogebra/ .

COVID-19 flattening curve. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYNMuaPm654&list=PLiBUAR5Cdi60qXjrzAVdhOgufWVuWTdl2&index=16

The derivative of the sigmoid was used to explain why it was both possible and important to “flatten the curve.” Different curves, with faster or slower growth, were associated to the roles of prevention, social status, and different kinds of homes. Examples of this type of “virtual classroom,” outside of the school/university context, illustrate how much the three trends analyzed in this paper can be powerfully intertwined. This calls for research to understand what kind of mathematics education is being experienced by those who synchronously or asynchronously viewed the Lives.

6 Discussion and conclusion

Most of mathematics education is supported by empirical papers. In the 1970s, most research was quantitative, and data was used to “prove” that a given method of teaching was better than another. Empirical data had the same role it plays to this day in a good part of what is considered science: there were control groups and experimental groups, and the methodology was based on (or reduced to) statistical treatment and conclusions. Later last century, and earlier this century, qualitative research has swung the pendulum in another direction. Qualitative research sees data as a voice, as a complement that should be added to other evidence in order to make (“prove”) a point (Borba et al., 2018 ). Truth was assumed to be explicitly contingent and subject to change long before the COVID-19 pandemic brought so many instabilities to our beliefs. As arguments grew apart from data, a wide set of reactions, including some from powerful funding agencies, emerged. For example, there were funding agencies that require quantitative data in a project. Now the notion of mixed methods is prevalent, even though it is not clear what the role of the data or the view of “truth” is in much of the research published.

Essays such as this paper serve the purpose of discussing ideas and presenting bases for research papers, so that we can know (in the different directions briefly presented above) about mathematics education, in the different epistemological positions that characterize our community. In this sense, this paper is a result of a reflection on how three trends could have their agendas transformed by SARS-CoV-2. Of course, other trends, such as ethnomathematics or early-grades mathematics education, will also be affected. The issues raised throughout this paper should be transformed by readers and should themselves become the objects of research. In this paper, I choose to deal with digital technology, philosophy of mathematics education, and critical mathematics education because the pandemic seems to have played a significant role in the changes of the agendas of these three trends. It seems important to raise new issues in these trends.

Digital technology is now a theme of concern (or research) for everyone (Engelbrecht et al., 2020a , b ). The amplification of the starkness of inequality under the pandemic cannot be ignored (except for those who believe that the Earth is flat and that hydroxychloroquine is a miracle cure for COVID-19), and the rise of the home office, associated with home schooling, confinement, and lockdown, may help many to think about philosophical issues regarding the role of “place” in knowing/learning and notions such as humans-with-media.

In the paragraphs above, I have pointed at my choices in identifying important trends. Why did I say “I” instead of “we,” which would refer to a collective of humans-with-media? It is a good question, and a tentative answer, in another domain of discussion (qualitative research and its influence in the classroom), was given in Borba et al. ( 2018 ). The authorship of a paper or a book may be individual, but it is a result of a collective endeavor of “endless” humans-with-media. This paper Footnote 9 has one author, but it involved the active participation of one doctoral student (Juliana Çar Stal), three teachers who lent me their speech (Karla Cristina Stropa Gourlart, Luiz Felipe Trovão, and one who wanted to remain anonymous), the reviewers, the editors of this special issue, members of the research group I belong to, the more than 100 members of the graduate program in mathematics education at UNESP Footnote 10 , Rio Claro, friends, the computer, the word processor, the home, the office, and, of course, the pandemic, COVID-19. We hope we can discuss this at the next ICME and that it does take place in 2021!

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In Brazil, most people will not have unlimited access to Internet in their cell phone. Especially if you are poor, you typically buy credits for Internet and pay as you go.

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Borba, M.C. The future of mathematics education since COVID-19: humans-with-media or humans-with-non-living-things. Educ Stud Math 108 , 385–400 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-021-10043-2

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Accepted : 16 February 2021

Published : 27 April 2021

Issue Date : October 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-021-10043-2

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Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics + Statistics

MASEEH DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS + STATISTICS

PhD Mathematics Education

The main objective of this program is to develop educators with an understanding of mathematics and its teaching and learning, and with the capabilities for research and professional practice in the field. 

This program provides a balance between mathematics and mathematics education in order to develop mathematics educators who can become: (i) Faculty members in mathematics departments or schools of education in universities, four year colleges, or community colleges; (ii) Curriculum specialists in mathematics, supervisors of mathematics at the middle school level or secondary school level, or mathematics specialists in state or local departments of education; (iii) Private sector specialists in mathematics education.

Where our doctoral program graduates are currently employed or were employed just after graduating.

Program Prerequisites

Candidates in this program must currently have (or complete during their program) a master's degree in mathematics equivalent to the MS/MA Mathematics degree or the MS in Mathematics for Teachers degree at Portland State University.

In addition to program prerequisites, applicants must meet the university's minimum admission requirements including English language proficiency .

Application Deadline

This program admits once per year for fall term only.  Applicants seeking financial support should apply by January 15th  for priority consideration. Applications will not be accepted after February 1.

Application Instructions

Cost and funding .

Refer to the University Student Finance web page for tuition and financial aid information.  

The department offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships , Fellowships, and Scholarships.   Program applicants are able to indicate their interest in an assistantship as part of the online program application. 

Degree Requirements

Candidates must complete an approved program of 84 credit hours consisting of three major components: coursework, a research practicum experience, and dissertation research.

Coursework (54 credits)

Coursework must include a minimum of:

• 18 credit hours in Mathematics Education Research Courses (Mathematics 690 - 695)
• 18 credit hours of other 500-600 level mathematics courses
• 18 hours of graduate coursework in supporting areas outside of mathematics (such as curriculum and instruction, psychology, educational policy, science, computer science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, etc.)

Research Practicum MTH 601 (3 credits)

The purpose of the research experience will be to provide candidates with an opportunity to use methodological techniques in mathematics education early on in their course of study. Prior to the dissertation, candidates will be expected to gain experience with the qualitative and quantitative approaches that are now used by many researchers and curriculum developers in mathematics education. Some examples of possible research practicum experiences are: case studies of students' learning documented over time, studies of teachers' practice in the mathematics classroom, documentation of teachers' beliefs about mathematics as they implement new curricula.

Dissertation Research MTH 603 (27 credits)

The PhD dissertation research will ordinarily be conducted under the guidance of a mathematics educator in the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The dissertation is the most important part of a candidates program, and involves identifying and researching a significant problem which builds upon previous research, and which will make an original contribution to an area of research in mathematics education. Dissertation committees consisting of a mix of faculty with expertise in mathematics education, mathematics, curriculum and instruction, and other areas outside of mathematics education will be encouraged. After completing the comprehensive examinations, the chairperson and dissertation committee will be appointed. The student will develop a dissertation proposal which will be defended in an oral presentation to the committee. When the proposal has been approved by the committee, and if necessary by the University Human Subjects research Review committee, the student will be considered a candidate for the PhD in mathematics education. The dissertation must be completed according to the outlines of the proposal approved by the candidate's committee. Students must register for dissertation credit during each term they are engaged in dissertation research. Upon completion of doctoral thesis work, the candidate will defend the dissertation before the committee in an oral presentation that is open to other interested faculty and students. The student is expected to demonstrate knowledge of the research literature in mathematics education that relates to the particular problem chosen for research, and to show how the dissertation contributes to work in this area.

Demonstrated Competency Areas

Prior to completing their program, candidates in the Mathematics Education PhD program will be expected to demonstrate competency in the following 7 areas:

• mathematics education
• mathematics
• supporting content areas
• the use of technologies in teaching mathematics
• the application of mathematics education in an urban setting
• research in mathematics education

1. Mathematics Education

The competency in mathematics education can be met by successfully completing graduate coursework in mathematics education and the psychology of learning and by passing a written, comprehensive exam.

Coursework: Candidates must successfully complete the 6 graduate seminars in Mathematics Education (Math 690, 691, 692, 693, 694, and 695) and at least one course in the psychology of learning. 

Comprehensive Exam in Mathematics Education: Prior to being advanced to candidacy, students must pass and orally defend a written, comprehensive exam that covers the key developments and theoretical perspectives on the history of mathematics education, the teaching and learning of mathematics, and the development of curriculum in mathematics. The implications of this information for urban populations and settings will also be included. Students will have two weeks to compose their responses, which they will defend orally before an examination committee.  

2. Mathematics

Applicants to the Ph.D. in Mathematics Education are expected to have at least a master's degree in mathematics or a degree equivalent to the MS in Mathematics for Teachers (MS-MTCH) degree at Portland State University. The competency in mathematics can be met by successfully completing additional graduate-level course work in mathematics beyond the masters and by passing a written comprehensive exam.

Coursework: Candidates must complete an additional 18 graduate-level credits in mathematics beyond the masters (or the equivalent of the MS-MTCH degree at PSU) that together with their master's program reflects a sufficient breadth and depth of the topics in elementary calculus and analysis, linear and abstract algebra, geometry and topology, probability and statistics, and other applications

Comprehensive Exams in Mathematics: Prior to being advanced to candidacy, students must pass and orally defend a written comprehensive exam in mathematics that covers the big ideas of analysis, linear and abstract algebra, plus one of the following areas: probability, statistics, topology, geometry, or applied mathematics. Students will sit for the exam but will have the opportunity to defend their responses orally before an examination committee.

3. Supporting Content Areas

The competency in supporting content area(s) can be met by successfully completing 18 graduate credit hours in areas outside of mathematics such as, curriculum and instruction, psychology, educational policy, science, computer science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, etc. Candidates will be expected to plan this portion of their program in consultation with their advisor so that the 18 credits forms a coherent supporting focus and includes at least one course in the psychology of learning.

4. Teaching

It is recommended that candidates in the PhD program acquire mathematics teaching experience at both the K-12 and the college level. At a minimum, candidates must demonstrate competency in teaching mathematics for at least one of these two levels.

5: The use of technologies in teaching mathematics

Students will be expected to acquire background and experiences in how students best learn mathematics within technologically enhanced learning environments either by working with students in K-12 classrooms or by teaching courses in the department that utilize technology (e.g., pre-calculus, calculus, linear algebra, or differential equations). The role of technology in mathematics education will be addressed throughout the doctoral program. In the seminar courses on teaching and learning (Math 693 and 694) and in the topics courses (Math 695) students will become versed in the research literature on technology in mathematics education.

The Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics also offers Math 588 "Technology for Teachers" which provides exposure to a variety of technologies including symbolic algebra manipulators (i.e., Maple, Mathematica, and Derive), graphing packages (Derive, various graphing calculators), and geometrical tools (Cabri geometry, Geometer's Sketchpad). In addition students are introduced to the various mathematics resources and information available on the World Wide Web. This course, or its equivalent, will be required of all participants in the program.

6. Applications of mathematics education in an urban setting

Portland State University and the Portland Metro area provide a "natural laboratory" for conducting research on the teaching and learning of mathematics within an urban setting. Moreover, integral to the mission of Portland State University is a commitment to work with community partners in the promotion of educational reform K-16. Candidates in the Ph.D. program will be expected to demonstrate competency in working with urban populations and settings either by providing service or conducting research with community partners.

7. Research in Mathematics Education

The competency in research in mathematics education can be met by successfully completing coursework in research in mathematics education, a research practicum project, and the doctoral dissertation.

Coursework: Students need to demonstrate experience with both quantitative and qualitative research methods which can be done through coursework and within the research practicum. Students must successfully complete Mathematics 692, Research Methodology and Research Design in Mathematics Education. Some students may also wish to take some additional coursework in research methodologies from outside areas.

In a doctoral program, the residency requirement can be satisfied in one of the follow ways:

• Three terms of full-time enrollment (minimum 9 graduate credits applicable to the degree program each term) during the first two years after admission to the program.  This may include one or more summer terms.
• Six terms of part-time enrollment (minimum 1 graduate credit applicable to the degree program each term) during the first two years after admission to the program.  This may include one or more summer terms.
• A doctoral student who was enrolled in the same major at PSU, and whose matriculation to the doctoral program immediately follows (within one calendar year) the master's degree program, may fulfill the residency requirement during the period in which the student was enrolled in the master's program

Student Handbook

For additional details please read the PhD in Mathematics Student Handbook and the general rules in the Graduate School section of the  University Bulletin .

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This collection contains a selection of the latest doctoral theses completed at the School of Mathematics. Please note this is not a comprehensive record.

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Recent Submissions

Spencer cohomology, supersymmetry and the structure of killing superalgebras , higher triangulated categories and fourier-mukai transforms on abelian surfaces and threefolds , investigating computer aided assessment of mathematical proof by varying the format of students' answers and the structure of assessment design by stack , estimation and application of bayesian hawkes process models , novel statistical learning approaches for open banking-type data , statistical and machine learning approaches to genomic medicine , using markov chain monte carlo in vector generalized linear mixed models: with an application to integral projection models in ecology , symmetries of riemann surfaces and magnetic monopoles , kan extensions in probability theory , regression analysis for extreme value responses and covariates , categorical torelli theorems for fano threefolds , laplacians for structure recovery on directed and higher-order graphs , efficient interior point algorithms for large scale convex optimization problems , solving sampling and optimization problems via tamed langevin mcmc algorithms in the presence of super-linearities , algebraic combinatorial structures for singular stochastic dynamics , stochastic modelling and inference of ocean transport , convergence problems for singular stochastic dynamics , classification of supersymmetric black holes in ads₅ , bps cohomology for 2-calabi—yau categories , quantitative finance informed machine learning .

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Mathematical Institute

Please note the following topics are only open to Part C Maths, Maths & Phil, Maths & CompSci and OMMS students. For current students please see the full proposals here .

Representations of finite Hecke algebras - Prof D Ciubotaru

Homotopy Type Theory - Prof K Kremnitzer

Integrated Information Theory - Prof K Kremnitzer

Enumerating finite groups - Prof N Nikolov

Hyperquiver Representations - Prof V Nanda

Non-local PDEs and fractional Sobolev - Dr D Gomez-Castro

Fundamental solutions of linear partial differential equations - Prof J Kristensen

Extensions of Lipschitz maps, type and cotype - Dr K Ciosmak

Multi-dimensional Monge-Kantorovick system of PDE's - Dr K Ciosmak

von Neumann Algebras - Prof S White

Geometry, Number Theory and Topology

Modular Forms - Prof A Lauder

Graded rings and projective varieties - Prof B Szendroi

The Hardy-Littlewood Method - Prof B Green

Divergence of finitely generated groups - Dr B Sun

Geometric Class Field Theory - Prof D Rossler

The Semistable Reduction Theorem for Curves over Function Fields - Prof D Rossler

Poisson geometry and symplectic groupoids - Dr F Bischoff

Sieve Methods - Prof J Maynard

Galois Representation - Dr J Newton

Hodge Theory, Morse Theory and Supersymmetry - Prof J Lotay

Number Theory and Random Matrices - Prof J Keating

HKR Character Theory - Dr L Brantner

A bound for the systole of an aspherical manifold - Prof P Papazoglou

Analysis of Boolean Functions - Prof T Sanders

Chabauty techniques in Number Theory - Prof V Flynn

Topics in O-minimality - Prof J Pila

Mathematical Methods and Applications 

Mathematical Modelling of Plant - Prof D Moulton

Magneto-active elastic objects - Combining magnetism with elasticity - Prof D Vella

Modelling aspects of cells and Stokes flows in mathematical biology - Prof E Gaffney

Modelling aspects of cellular signalling beyond the simplest Turing mechanism - Prof E Gaffney

Modelling geothermal boreholes using pertubation methods - Prof I Hewitt

Viscoplastic models for geophysical flows - Prof I Hewitt

The time-elapsed model for neural networks - D P Roux

Dynamics on signed networks - Prof R Lambiotte

Mathematical Physics

The classification of 2d conformal field theories - Prof A Henriques

Scattering Theory - Prof L Mason

Numerical Analysis and Data Science

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare - Dr A Kormilitzin

Approximation of functions in a square, cube, and hypercube - Prof N Trefethen

Lightning Helmholtz solver - Prof N Trefethen

Numerical conformal mapping - Prof N Trefethen

Development and Calibration of Models for Pedestrian Dynamics - Dr R Bailo

Numerical Schemes for Crystal Growth - Dr R Bailo

(Randomised) Numerical Linear Algebra - Prof Y Nakatsukasa

Characterizing the structure of networks with discrete Ricci curvature - Dr M Weber

Optimization algorithms for data science - Prof C Cartis

Stochastics, Discrete Mathematics and Information

Random walk in random environment - Prof B Hambly

Blockchains and (Decentralized) Exchanges - Prof H Oberhauser

Bismut formula, Feynman-Kac formula and estimates for second order parabolic equations - Prof Z Qian

Convergence of finite Markov chains on abelian groups - Prof Z Qian

PDF method in turbulence - Prof Z Qian

History of Mathematics

Students wishing to do a dissertation based on the History of Mathematics are asked to contact Brigitte Stenhouse at  @email  by Wednesday of week 1 with a short draft proposal. All decisions will be communicated to students by the end of week 2.

All supported proposals , will then be referred to Projects Committee who meet in week 4 for final approval. With the support of Brigitte Stenhouse students must submit a COD Dissertation Proposal Form to Projects Committee by the end of week 3.

Department of Statistics

Please note that Part C Mathematics and Statistics students MUST select from the list of the below topics. OMMS students are also able to select the Statistics and Probability projects from the Department of Statistics.

It may be possible for a Maths student to complete a Statistics dissertation, however, the priority when allocating will be the Maths & Stats and OMMS students. If you are interested, please email  @email  for more information.

A novel deconvolution method based on entropic optimal transport - Dr G Mena

Applications of Machine Learning to Drug Discovery - Prof G Morris

Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design - Dr T Rainforth

Co-jumping behaviour in time series and financial networks - Prof M Cucuringu

Concentration inequalities and applications - Prof G Deligiannidis

Convergence Complexity for Markov Chain Monte Carlo in High Dimensions - Dr J Yang

Extreme Classification - Prof F Carron

Genealogies of Sequences experiencing Recombination - Prof J Hein

 How many have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic and who was at greatest risk - Prof C Donnelly

Instrumental Variable Estimation with Weak Instruments - Prof F Windmeijer

Kernel-based tests and dependence measures - Prof D Sejdinovic

Mirror Descent and Statistical Robustness - Prof P Rebeschini

Multi-Locus Phase-type Distributions in Population Genetics - Dr A Biddanda

Polygenic scores - Prof R Davies

Protein folding interfaces template the formation of the native state - Dr D Nissley

Quasistationary distributions for Markov processes - Prof D Steinsaltz

Random Recursive Trees - Prof C Goldschmidt

Urn models and applications - Prof M Winkel

Dissertations

Most Harvard PhD dissertations from 2012 forward are available online in DASH , Harvard’s central open-access repository and are linked below. Many older dissertations can be found on ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Search which many university libraries subscribe to.

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PhD Dissertations

In 1909 the department awarded its first PhD to  Grace M. Bareis , whose dissertation was directed by Professor Harry W. Kuhn. The department began awarding PhD degrees on a regular basis around 1930, when a formal doctoral program was established as a result of the appointment of Tibor Radó as a professor at our department. To date, the department has awarded over 800 PhD degrees. An average of approximately 15 dissertations per year have been added in recent times. Find below a list of PhD theses completed in our program since 1952. (Additionally, search Ohio State at  Math Genealogy , which also includes some theses from other OSU departments.)

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Mathematics MSc dissertations

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics was host until 2014 to the MSc course in the Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation (previously known as Numerical Solution of Differential Equations) and the MSc course in Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans. A selection of dissertation titles are listed below, some of which are available online:

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991

2014: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Amanda Hynes - Slow and superfast diffusion of contaminant species through porous media

2014: Applicable and Numerical Mathematics

Emine Akkus - Estimating forecast error covariance matrices with ensembles

Rabindra Gurung - Numerical solution of an ODE system arising in photosynthesis

2013: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Zeinab Zargar - Modelling of Hot Water Flooding as an Enhanced Oil Recovery Method

Siti Mazulianawati Haji Majid - Numerical Approximation of Similarity in Nonlinear Diffusion Equations

2013: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

Yu Chau Lam - Drag and Momentum Fluxes Produced by Mountain Waves

Josie Dodd - A Moving Mesh Approach to Modelling the Grounding Line in Glaciology

2012: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Chris Louder - Mathematical Techniques of Image Processing

Jonathan Muir - Flux Modelling of Polynyas

Naomi Withey - Computer Simulations of Dipolar Fluids Using Ewald Summations

2012: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

Jean-Francois Vuillaume - Numerical prediction of flood plains using a Lagrangian approach

2011: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Tudor Ciochina - The Closest Point Method

Theodora Eleftheriou - Moving Mesh Methods Using Monitor Functions for the Porous Medium Equation

Melios Michael - Self-Consistent Field Calculations on a Variable Resolution Grid

2011: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

Peter Barnet - Rain Drop Growth by Collision and Coalescence

Matthew Edgington - Moving Mesh Methods for Semi-Linear Problems

Samuel Groth - Light Scattering by Penetrable Convex Polygons

Charlotte Kong - Comparison of Approximate Riemann Solvers

Amy Jackson - Estimation of Parameters in Traffic Flow Models Using Data Assimilation

Bruce Main - Solving Richards' Equation Using Fixed and Moving Mesh Schemes

Justin Prince - Fast Diffusion in Porous Media

Carl Svoboda - Reynolds Averaged Radiative Transfer Model

2010: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Tahnia Appasawmy - Wave Reflection and Trapping in a Two Dimensional Duct

Nicholas Bird - Univariate Aspects of Covariance Modelling within Operational Atmospheric Data Assimilation

Michael Conland - Numerical Approximation of a Quenching Problem

Katy Shearer - Mathematical Modelling of the regulation and uptake of dietary fats

Peter Westwood - A Moving Mesh Finite Element Approach for the Cahn-Hilliard Equation

Kam Wong - Accuracy of a Moving Mesh Numerical Method applied to the Self-similar Solution of Nonlinear PDEs

2010: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

James Barlow - Computation and Analysis of Baroclinic Rossby Wave Rays in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Martin Conway - Heat Transfer in a Buried Pipe

Simon Driscoll - The Earth's Atmospheric Angular Momentum Budget and its Representation in Reanalysis Observation Datasets and Climate Models

George Fitton - A Comparative Study of Computational Methods in Cosmic Gas Dynamics Continued

Fay Luxford - Skewness of Atmospheric Flow Associated with a Wobbling Jetstream

Jesse Norris - A Semi-Analytic Approach to Baroclinic Instability on the African Easterly Jet

Robert J. Smith - Minimising Time-Stepping Errors in Numerical Models of the Atmosphere and Ocean

Amandeep Virdi - The Influence of the Agulhas Leakage on the Overturning Circulation from Momentum Balances

2009: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Charlotta Howarth - Integral Equation Formulations for Scattering Problems

David Fairbairn - Comparison of the Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter with the Ensemble Transform Kalman Smoother

Mark Payne - Mathematical Modelling of Platelet Signalling Pathways Mesh Generation and its application to Finite Element Methods

Mary Pham - Mesh Generation and its application to Finite Element Methods

Sarah Cole - Blow-up in a Chemotaxis Model Using a Moving Mesh Method

2009: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

Danila Volpi - Estimation of parameters in traffic flow models using data assimilation

Dale Partridge - Analysis and Computation of a Simple Glacier Model using Moving Grids

David MacLeod - Evaluation of precipitation over the Middle East and Mediterranean in high resolution climate models

Joanne Pocock - Ensemble Data Assimilation: How Many Members Do We Need?

Neeral Shah - Impact and implications of climate variability and change on glacier mass balance in Kenya

Tomos Roberts - Non-oscillatory interpolation for the Semi-Lagrangian scheme

Zak Kipling - Error growth in medium-range forecasting models

Zoe Gumm - Bragg Resonance by Ripple Beds

2008: Mathematics of Scientific and Industrial Computation

Muhammad Akram - Linear and Quadratic Finite Elements for a Moving Mesh Method

Andrew Ash - Examination of non-Time Harmonic Radio Waves Incident on Plasmas

Cassandra Moran - Harbour modelling and resonances

Elena Panti - Boundary Element Method for Heat Transfer in a Buried Pipe

Juri Parrinello - Modelling water uptake in rice using moving meshes

Ashley Twigger - Blow-up in the Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation Using an Adaptive Mesh Method

Chloe Ward - Numerical Evaluation of Oscillatory Integrals

Christopher Warner - Forward and Inverse Water-Wave Scattering by Topography

2008: Mathematical and Numerical Modelling of the Atmosphere and Oceans

Fawzi Al Busaidi - Fawzi Albusaidi

Christopher Bowden - A First Step Towards the Calculation of a Connectivity Matrix for the Great Barrier Reef

Evangelia-Maria Giannakopoulou - Flood Prediction and Uncertainty

Victoria Heighton - 'Every snowflake is different'

Thomas Jordan - Does Self-Organised Criticality Occur in the Tropical Convective System?

Gillian Morrison - Numerical Modelling of Tidal Bores using a Moving Mesh

Rachel Pritchard - Evaluation of Fractional Dispersion Models

2007: Numerical solution of differential equations

Tamsin Lee - New methods for approximating acoustic wave transmission through ducts (PDF 2.5MB)

Lee Morgan - Anomalous diffusion (PDF-1.5MB)

Keith Pham - Finite element modelling of multi-asset barrier options (PDF-3MB)

Alastair Radcliffe - Finite element modelling of the atmosphere using the shallow water equations (PDF-2.5MB)

Sanita Vetra - The computation of spectral representations for evolution PDE (PDF-3.2MB)

2007: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Laura Baker - Properties of the ensemble Kalman filter (PDF-3.8MB)

Alison Brass - A moving mesh method for the discontinuous Galerkin finite element technique (PDF-916KB)

Daniel Lucas - Application of the phase/amplitude method to the study of trapped waves in the atmosphere and oceans (PDF-1.1MB)

Duduzile Nhlengethwa - Petrol or diesel (PDF-1MB)

Rhiannon Roberts - Modelling glacier flow (PDF-406KB)

David Skinner - A moving mesh finite element method for the shallow water equations (PDF-4.3MB)

Jovan Stojsavljevic - Investigation of waiting times in non-linear diffusion equations using a moving mesh method (PDF-538KB)

2006: Numerical solution of differential equations

Bonhi Bhattacharya - A moving finite element method for high order nonlinear diffusion problems

Jonathan Coleman - High frequency boundary element methods for scattering by complex polygons

Rachael England - The use of numerical methods in solving pricing problems for exotic financial derivatives with a stochastic volatility

Stefan King - Best fits with adjustable nodes and scale invariance

Edmund Ridley - Analysis of integral operators from scattering problems

Nicholas Robertson - A moving Lagrangian mesh model of a lava dome volcano and talus slope

2006: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Iain Davison - Scale analysis of short term forecast errors

Richard Silveira - Electromagnetic scattering by simple ice crystal shapes

Nicola Stone - Development of a simplified adaptive finite element model of the Gulf Stream

Halina Watson - The behaviour of 4-D Var for a highly nonlinear system

2005: Numerical solution of differential equations

Jonathan Aitken - Data dependent mesh generation for peicewise linear interpolation

Stephen Arden - A collocation method for high frequency scattering by convex polygons

Shaun Benbow - Numerical methods for american options

Stewart Chidlow - Approximations to linear wave scattering by topography using an integral equation approach

Philip McLaughlin - Outdoor sound propagation and the boundary element method

Antonis Neochoritis - Numerical modelling of islands and capture zone size distributions in thin film growth

Kylie Osman - Numerical schemes for a non-linear diffusion problem

Shaun Potticary - Efficient evaluation of highly oscillatory integrals

Martyn Taylor - Investigation into how the reduction of length scales affects the flow of viscoelastic fluid in parallel plate geometries

Aanand Venkatramanan - American spread option pricing

2005: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Richard Fruehmann - Ageostrophic wind storms in the central Caspian sea

Gemma Furness - Using optimal estimation theory for improved rainfall rates from polarization radar

Edward Hawkins - Vorticity extremes in numerical simulations of 2-D geostrophic turbulence

Robert Horton - Two dimensional turbulence in the atmosphere and oceans

David Livings - Aspects of the ensemble Kalman filter

David Sproson - Energetics and vertical structure of the thermohaline circulation

2004: Numerical solution of differential equations

Rakhib Ahmed - Numerical schemes applied to the Burgers and Buckley-Leverett equations

James Atkinson - Embedding methods for the numerical solution of convolution equations

Catherine Campbell-Grant - A comparative study of computational methods in cosmic gas dynamics

Paresh Prema - Numerical modelling of Island ripening

Mark Webber - The point source methods in inverse acoustic scattering

2004: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Oliver Browne - Improving global glacier modelling by the inclusion of parameterised subgrid hypsometry within a three-dimensional, dynamical ice sheet model

Petros Dalakakis - Radar scattering by ice crystals

Eleanor Gosling - Flow through porous media: recovering permeability data from incomplete information by function fitting .

Sarah Grintzevitch - Heat waves: their climatic and biometeorological nature in two north american reigions

Helen Mansley - Dense water overflows and cascades

Polly Smith - Application of conservation laws with source terms to the shallow water equations and crowd dynamics

Peter Taylor - Application of parameter estimation to meteorology and food processing

2003: Numerical solution of differential equations

Kate Alexander - Investigation of a new macroscopic model of traffic flow

Luke Bennetts - An application of the re-iterated Galerkin approximation in 2-dimensions

Peter Spence - The Position of the free boundary formed between an expanding plasma and an electric field in differing geometries

Daniel Vollmer - Adaptive mesh refinement using subdivision of unstructured elements for conservation laws

2003: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Clare Harris - The Valuation of weather derivatives using partial differential equations

Sarah Kew - Development of a 3D fractal cirrus model and its use in investigating the impact of cirrus inhomogeneity on radiation

Emma Quaile - Rotation dominated flow over a ridge

Jemma Shipton - Gravity waves in multilayer systems

2002: Numerical solution of differential equations

Winnie Chung - A Spectral Method for the Black Scholes Equations

Penny Marno - Crowded Macroscopic and Microscopic Models for Pedestrian Dynamics

Malachy McConnell - On the numerical solution of selected integrable non-linear wave equations

Stavri Mylona - An Application of Kepler's Problem to Formation Flying using the Störmer-Verlet Method

2002: Mathematical and numerical modelling of the atmosphere and oceans

Sarah Brodie - Numerical Modelling of Stratospheric Temperature Changes and their Possible Causes

Matt Sayer - Upper Ocean Variability in the Equatorial Pacific on Diurnal to Intra-seasonal Timescales

Laura Stanton - Linearising the Kepler problem for 4D-var Data Assimilation

2001: Numerical solution of differential equations

R.B. Brad - An Implementation of the Box Scheme for use on Transcritical Problems

D. Garwood - A Comparison of two approaches for the Approximating of 2-D Scattered Data, with Applications to Geological Modelling

R. Hawkes - Mesh Movement Algorithms for Non-linear Fisher-type Equations

P. Jelfs - Conjugate Gradients with Rational and Floating Point Arithmetic

M. Maisey - Vorticity Preserving Lax-Wendroff Type Schemes

C.A. Radcliffe - Positive Schemes for the Linear Advection Equation

2000: Numerical solution of differential equations

D. Brown - Two Data Assimilation Techniques for Linear Multi-input Systems.

S. Christodoulou - Finite Differences Applied to Stochastic Problems in Pricing Derivatives.

C. Freshwater - The Muskingum-Cunge Method for Flood Routing.

S.H. Man - Galerkin Methods for Coupled Integral Equations.

A. Laird - A New Method for Solving the 2-D Advection Equation.

T. McDowall - Finite Differences Applied to Joint Boundary Layer and Eigenvalue Problems.

M. Shahrill - Explicit Schemes for Finding Soliton Solutions of the Korteweg-de Vries Equation.

B. Weston - A Marker and Cell Solution of the Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations for Free Surface Flow.

1999: Numerical solution of differential equations

M. Ariffin - Grid Equidistribution via Various Algorithmic Approaches.

S.J. Fletcher - Numerical Approximations to Bouyancy Advection in the Eddy Model.

N.Fulcher - The Finite Element Approximation of the Natural Frequencies of a Circular Drum.

V. Green - A Financial Model and Application of the Semi-Lagrangian Time-Stepping Scheme.

D.A. Parry - Construction of Symplectic Runge-Kutta Methods and their Potential for Molecular Dynamics Application.

S.C. Smith - The Evolution of Travelling Waves in a Simple Model for an Ionic Autocatalytic System

P. Swain - Numerical Investigations of Vorticity Preserving Lax-Wendroff Type Schemes.

M. Wakefield - Variational Methods for Upscaling.

1998: Numerical solution of differential equations

C.C. Anderson - A dual-porosity model for simulating the preferential movement of water in the unsaturated zone of a chalk aquifer.

K.W. Blake - Contour zoning.

M.R. Garvie - A comparison of cell-mapping techniques for basins of attraction.

W. Gaudin - HYDRA: a 3-d MPP Eulerian hydrocode.

D. Gnandi - Alternating direction implicit method applied to stochastic problems in derivative finance.

J. Hudson - Numerical techniques for conservation laws with source terms. .

H.S. Khela - The boundary integral method.

K. Singh - A comparison of numerical schemes for pricing bond options.

1997: Numerical solution of differential equations

R.V. Egan - Chaotic response of the Duffing equation. A numerical investigation into the dynamics of the non-linear vibration equation.

R.G. Higgs - Nonlinear diffusion in reservoir simulation.

P.B. Horrocks - Fokker-Planck model of stochastic acceleration: a study of finite difference schemes.

M.A. Wlasek - Variational data assimilation: a study.

1996: Numerical solution of differential equations

A. Barnes - Reaction-diffusion waves in an isothermal chemical system with a general order of autocatalysis.

S.J. Leary - Mesh movement and mesh subdivision.

S. McAllister - First and second order complex differential equations.

R.K. Sadhra - Investigating dynamical systems using the cell-to-cell mapping.

J.P. Wilson - A refined numerical model of sediment deposition on saltmarshes.

1995: Numerical solution of differential equations

M. Bishop - The modelling and analysis of the equations of motion of floating bodies on regular waves.

J. Olwoch - Isothermal autocatalytic reactions with an immobilized autocatalyst.

S. Stoke - Eulerian methods with a Lagrangian phase in gas dynamics.

R. Coad - 1-D and 2-D simulations of open channel flows using upwinding schemes.

1994: Numerical solution of differential equations

M. Ali - Application of control techniques to solving linear systems of equations .

M.H. Brookes - An investigation of a dual-porosity model for the simulation of unsaturated flow in a porous medium .

A.J. Crossley - Application of Roe's scheme to the shallow water equations on the sphere .

D.A. Kirkland - Huge singular values and the distance to instability. .

B.M. Neil - An investigation of the dynamics of several equidistribution schemes .

1993: Numerical solution of differential equations

P.A. Burton - Re-iterative methods for integral equations .

J.M. Hobbs - A moving finite element approach to semiconductor process modelling in 1-D. .

L.M. Whitfield - The application of optimal control theory to life cycle strategies .

S.J. Woolnough - A numerical model of sediment deposition on saltmarshes .

1992: Numerical solution of differential equations

I. MacDonald - The numerical solution of free surface/pressurized flow in pipes. .

A.D. Pollard - Preconditioned conjugate gradient methods for serial and parallel computers. .

C.J. Smith - Adaptive finite difference solutions for convection and convection-diffusion problems .

1991: Numerical solution of differential equations

K.J. Neylon - Block iterative methods for three-dimensional groundwater flow models .