Closed captioning of instructional videos is a topic that has not seen much discussion despite its importance for hearing-impaired students and recent legal ramifications if videos are not appropriately captioned. In particular, it is unclear what best practice in captioning videos should be to benefit all learners in disciplines such as…

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions mathematics students have of the knowledge and skills they develop throughout their programme of study. It addresses current concerns about the employability of mathematics graduates by contributing much needed insight into how degree programmes are developing broader learning outcomes for…

This position paper discusses the role of open access research data within mathematics education, a relatively new initiative across the wider research community. International and national policy documents are explored and examples from both the scientific and social science paradigms of mathematical sciences and mathematics education…

Measures of centre (the mean, median and mode) are fundamental to the discipline of statistics. Yet previous research shows that students may not have a thorough conceptual understanding of these measures, even though these statistics are easy to calculate. This study describes the findings of a study of pre-service teachers' ideas of measure of…

There are many geometrical approaches to the solution of the quadratic equation with real coefficients. In this article it is shown that the monic quadratic equation with complex coefficients can also be solved graphically, by the intersection of two hyperbolas; one hyperbola being derived from the real part of the quadratic equation and one from…

This study focuses on students in first year environmental science degree programs, where traditionally mathematical emphasis has been much less than within the strict science or math majors. The importance now placed on applied mathematics, however, means that students need to gain more conceptual and quantitative knowledge of mathematics in not…

This paper advances a model describing how peer assessment supports self-assessment. Although prior research demonstrates that peer assessment promotes self-assessment, the connection between these two activities is underspecified. This model, the assessment cycle, draws from theories of self-assessment to elaborate how learning takes place…

This article presents an informed reflection on the evolution of teacher-to-learner feedback provided on written assignments in first-year university mathematics subjects. The feedback provided addresses not only mathematical accuracy and skills, but also the development of graduate attributes, such as discipline-appropriate written communication.…

In 2014 we commenced working on the Inspiring Mathematics and Science in Teacher Education (IMSITE) project, aimed at improving mathematics and science education in Australia by improving the recruitment, development, and retention of mathematics and science teachers. In this project we undertook a range of activities, the most exciting of which…

Over the last two decades, many Australian universities have relaxed their selection requirements for mathematics-dependent degrees, shifting from hard prerequisites to assumed knowledge standards which provide students with an indication of the prior learning that is expected. This has been regarded by some as a positive move, since students who…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the nature of the students' mathematical talk in an undergraduate mathematics study group. Study groups to support the learning of first year mathematics students are encouraged by mathematics educators. From nine recorded sessions, a session with a high quantity of mathematical talk and unfamiliar…

Mathematics anxiety affects primary pre-service teachers' engagement with and future teaching of mathematics. The study aimed to assess the level and range of mathematics anxiety in first year pre-service teachers entering their teacher education course, and to investigate the sources of this anxiety as perceived and identified by them. Data…

Lexical ambiguity arises when a word from everyday English is used differently in a particular discipline, such as statistics. This paper reports on a project that begins by identifying tutors' perceptions of words that are potentially lexically ambiguous to students, in two different ways. Students' definitions of nine lexically ambiguous words…

Concern has been expressed that many commencing undergraduate mathematics students have mastered skills without conceptual understanding. A pilot study carried out at a leading Australian university indicates that a significant number of students, with high tertiary entrance ranks, have very limited understanding of the concept of function,…

For many scientists, researchers and students Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation is an important and necessary tool to perform Bayesian analyses. The simulation is often presented as a mathematical algorithm and then translated into an appropriate computer program. However, this can result in overlooking the fundamental and deeper…