Research

Online assessment

I have a longstanding, practical interest in automated assessment of mathematics.

I led a project to establish an agenda for research on this topic.

I have various projects underway to investigate aspects of the influence of online assessment on students' learning.

I have made extensive use of the STACK online assessment system in my teaching, particularly in the fully-online course, Fundamentals of Algebra and Calculus.

Diagnostic testing and assessment analysis

I contributed to the development of the Mathematics Diagnostic Test which has been in use at the University of Edinburgh since 2011. Each year it is taken online by around 1000 new students who are enrolled in courses taught by the School of Mathematics.

In 2017 I secured funding from the Princpal's Teaching Award Scheme for a two-year project to evaluate the performance of the test and to implement improvements.

Proof

Drawing on my background in pure mathematics, I have an ongoing interest in the educational aspects of mathematical proof.

Comparative judgement

I am interested in the use of comparative judgement, both as a research tool and in applications.

Classroom practices

I was the principal investigator on a multi-disciplinary project, Classroom Practices and Lecture Recording, which made use of recordings of lectures to characterise the range of teaching practices taking place in various classes. We are using this data to investigate the relationship between classroom pedagogy and various other measures such as student attainment and student usage of lecture recordings.

The FILL+ website has further details about ongoing work related to this project.