Nordic Master in Didactics of Mathematics

Transcription

1 Nordic Master in Didactics of Mathematics NORDIMA Barbro Grevholm Seminar i Bergen den 7-8 september 2011

2 Nordic Master in Didactics of Mathematics Project number NMP-2009/10730 The Master Consortium consists of University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland and Åbo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

3 What did we learn from the planning of the programme? The five universities were eager to strive for a joint programme. Earlier cooperation between the involved academics contributed to a flying start of the planning process. Administrative representatives were involved from the beginning and could contribute with knowledge about the different administrative and academic systems. It was demanding to learn about the five different master programmes we are building on. All had to study each others programmes and try to find flexible solutions and combiantions. Time was a limited resource and one year to plan a new programme is very short. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

4 Most positive experiences The way the academic teachers could cooperate and find flexible solutions to all problems in combining parts from five programmes. The support from university managements and administrative and legal experts. The interest among students and teachers for a joint Nordic collaboration. The easy access to support for practical problems such as travels and accommodation for students (Nordplus and Erasmus) and academic exchange and mobility. The great interest from other universities in the Joint Nordic Master Programme. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

5 Some negative experiences The fact that because of legal conditions in Denmark and Finland it was not possible to create a joint degree and we had to go for joint programming and double degrees. Little is known among university legal experts about joint degrees and there is little experience to build on. It took extremely long time to get the physical signatures on the agreement from all the five rectors and thus the agreement was signed very late and somewhat prevented the recruitment process. One early intended partner (HiST) had to be excluded because they did not have a doctoral programme. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

6 Marketing of the programme University of Copenhagen has invested DKK for marketing and produced a video for the web-page and a brochure about the NORDIMA, which is now being distributed both at KU and UiA. We expect it to take some time before the rumour spreds that this is a fantastic programme and large groups of students will apply. The web-pages at each of the five universities help students to find out about their opportunities in the NORDIMA. In each university one student consultant has expert knowledge about the programme and can assist the student with advice and information. All inquiries about NORDIMA are handled by the consultants. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

7 Labour market for the master students Master students educated earlier at the partner universities have all got excellent jobs and the labour market is demanding many more master degrees in mathematics education. There are many available jobs but few applicants. The most important working places that attract masters in mathematics education are compulsory schools, upper secondary schools, educational support organisations on regional level (fylke) and pedagogical centers on local, regional and national level, publishing companies and teacher education in universities and university colleges. Such employees would also be excellent in technical industry to create a necessary link between technical and administrative members of staff. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

8 What did we achieve which we did not have before? The most important achievement through the Nordic collaboration is to offer the best possible combinations of master courses and thesis content with the expert supervision that can be found in the Nordic countries. All five institutions have well established master programmes in mathematics education and are willing to offer the best elements from these programmes in the collaboration and their best and most experienced supervisors. NORDIMA can be planned for a specific student to become a more mathematics oriented or a more didactics oriented programme than can be found in any of the five universities. Each student can ask for their favorite expert supervisor. The programme allows students experiences from at least two different universities and offers them a double degree (from the two universities) Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

9 What do students think? Den første tanken som slo meg da tilbudet om et samarbeid mellom skandinaviske land duket opp var at dette virket som en morsom anledning til å oppleve litt utenfor studentlivet jeg kjenner til. Matematikk og Didaktikk er såpass utbredte og internasjonaliserte tema at om en sitter i København, Helsinki eller i Kristiansand når en skriver sin masteroppgave, så vil det spille en relativt liten rolle, men kulturen og nye bekjentskap du får i bonus vil nok være bonuser som kan berike opplevelsen av å skrive masteroppgave. My first thought when I noticed the offer about a cooperation between Scandinavian countries was that this seems to be a nice reason to experience something outside the student-life I already know of. Mathematics and didactics are so well-known and internationalised themes so sitting in Copenhagen, Helsinki or Kristiansand does not matter much, when you write your master thesis, but the culture and new friendships you will get as a bonus will be bonuses that can make your experience of writing the thesis richer. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

10 What do students think? Etter å ha forhørt meg litt med andre studenter som har vært ute på utveksling og hørt om opplevelser med et semester eller et helt år utenlands, så vil jeg si at dette er kanskje noe av det mer interresante som kommer av tilbud. Praktisk sett så får jeg en Joint Nordic Master, som gir altså papirer fra to universitet om at jeg har gjennomført min utdannelse hos dem og hvem vil ikke ha papirer fra et Universitet i København? After inquiring a little among other students who have been on exchange and listened to experiences from a term or a year abroad, I can say that this is maybe something of the more interesting you can get from an offer. In practice I will get a Joint Nordic Master, which gives me papers from two universities confirming that I have carried out my education with them and who does not want such a paper from a university in Copenhagen. Peter K. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september

11 The aim and objectives of NORDIMA The aim and objectives of Didactics of Mathematics, Joint Nordic Master Programme, are to make the students able to frame, analyse and solve problems related to mathematics learning, education and teaching within institutional frames and make justified, qualified decisions concerning planning of mathematics teaching. The students develop insights into, and overview of, theories in mathematics and didactics of mathematics and their relation to classroom practice. They will be able to develop their own ideas and design research-based analyses of problems in didactics of mathematics. The core content of the programme consists of a didactics of mathematics perspective on theory of science, mathematics, theories of teaching and learning mathematics, methodological issues for research in didactics of mathematics and experiences of history, traditions and justifications from at least two of the Nordic educational systems of mathematics education. Seminar Bergen 7-8 september