My Expertise
"This is a fun task, Why do my students switch off?"
Most teachers have never been told that there are specific features that can catch students interest. Additionally, even more is needed to maintain that interest. Student focus can start to dissipate if there is no richness to the task, such as chances to make your own choices.
Tasks that both catch and hold students interest exist, but are rare. How can a teacher find one if not even knowing what to look for?
Teaching and learning maths applies to everyone. We pour massive amounts of money on teachers’ salaries, textbooks, teacher education, school facilities… and what is the take-away?
There is a national concern about the declines of Australian students’ performance and engagement in mathematics and the intransigence of teaching practices that must change if there are going to be improvements. At the moment, students develop an aversion towards the subject; their mathematical self-confidence is low, and the national reports show that students simply switch off as soon as they are given the opportunity. This results in increasing shortages of mathematically skilled people to drive Australian competitiveness and innovation, and limited prospects for individuals concerned.
How to fix this? Ask me!
Keywords
Biography
- Multi-awarded maths educator
- Research fellow at UNSW
- 27 peer-reviewed research articles
- Founder of Math Hunger
- Founder of Maths for Humans
- Published author
Dr Laura Tuohilampi (UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture) is a mathematics education researcher, an in-service teacher trainer and the founder of Math Hunger and Maths for Humans. Passionate about shifting mindsets to view maths as positive, engaging and achievable, her work explores...view more
- Multi-awarded maths educator
- Research fellow at UNSW
- 27 peer-reviewed research articles
- Founder of Math Hunger
- Founder of Maths for Humans
- Published author
Dr Laura Tuohilampi (UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture) is a mathematics education researcher, an in-service teacher trainer and the founder of Math Hunger and Maths for Humans. Passionate about shifting mindsets to view maths as positive, engaging and achievable, her work explores practices that innovate and inspire traditional teaching methods to evolve with students’ learning habits.
My Grants
Mathematics Growth Team Academic Partner. NSW Department of Education, DOE03869/22. $723 222.92. 2023-2026. Beswick. K., Alonzo, D., Durksen, T., Fitzallen, N., Granziera, H., & Tuohilampi, L. .
Wayfinders, part 3. AUD 7,632. UNSW School Research Seed Grant application Jan 2023-Nov 2023.
Wayfinders part 2. AUD 25,000. Digital Grid Futures Institute Jul 2022-Dec2022.
Wayfinders. AUD 30,000. Digital Grid Futures Institute Jan 2021-Jun 2022.
Love Maths. AUD 10,000. UNSW Rapid Research Fund Jan 2022-Nov 2022.
My Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (Education)
My Awards
ECAN award for Maths for Humans community work (2021)
Best Didactical Doctoral Thesis of the Year in Finland (2017)
The Leader of the Future, Finnish award for making mathematics inspirational (2016)
My Research Activities
Current projects:
Vertical contextualisation: Future-oriented problem-solving. Utilising AI to revise mathematics problem-solving models to give students agency and increase the applicability of mathematics problem-solving for a sustainable future.
Student engagement: Defining Fun Maths. Identifying interest-promoting features in mathematics resources and clarifying what makes maths fun for real.
Teacher education and development: Love Maths. New models of PL that lead to iterative co-construction of new knowledge.
Educational psychology: Love Maths. Exploring novel ways of making mathematics learning an inspirational experience. Clarifying the concept of student engagement and how that connects with short and long term interest development.
Science Communication: Wayfinders. An interactive show for Stage 3 students. An interdisciplinary approach to building Strong Communicators at Digital Grid Futures Institute.
My Research Supervision
Areas of supervision
Mathematics engagement: students & teachers, quantitative & qualitative, primary & secondary, tasks & strategies
Currently supervising
EdD candidate Maria Woodbury: Adaptive assessment in Stage 4 Mathematics for the purposes of monitoring student growth (working title)
PhD candidate Hao Dai: Research on Mathematical Modeling Level and Cultivation Strategy of Junior Middle School Students (working title)
PhD candidate Jann Roberts: Photomath: Attempting to level the algebraic playing field (working title)
EdD candidate Vicky Hutchinson: Engaging and inspiring mathematics teachers in remote communities (working title)
Master's theses:
Amy Asquith: Revising Polya’s 4 step problem-solving model to make it 21st century skill fostering
Simon Johnson: Attitudes towards explicit teaching: A study into the underlying beliefs of current teachers and whether they align with the literature supporting explicit teaching.
Shiqi Dong: What does Fun Maths Mean in Primary Teaching Online Resources in Australia?
My Engagement
I have extensive expertise in making people fall in love with maths and utilise my personality and experiences to show the human side of learning mathematics. I work as a mathematics education influencer, researcher and lecturer who makes people see maths in a way they did not know existed. My goals are centred around ensuring any audience understands the "why" in learning mathematical skills, by making mathematics approachable, exciting and an accessible integral life skill.
I am the founder of Maths for Humans, a social enterprise that shares resources for real real-life mathematics, and Math Hunger, which is a Finnish company providing an all-inclusive engagement program for schools.
Location
Publications
ORCID as entered in ROS
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8117-4269
