Mike is a Senior Research Fellow based in the Centre for Research in Mathematics Education (CRME) based in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. A former political scientist, he has a PhD in Comparative European Politics from the University of Birmingham awarded in 2010. His expertise lies in the application of advanced statistical analysis to large social science datasets. He works on a number of randomised controlled trials funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, as well as Nuffield Foundation projects looking at the teaching of mathematics in Further Education sector, and the comparative analysis of student engagement, attainment and interest in secondary school science using the PISA 2015 dataset.  Mike’s research interests are broadly focused on Educational Randomised Controlled Trials, Mathematics and Science Education, Applied Bayesian Statistics, Multilevel/Hierarchical Modelling, Comparative Politics, and European Union Politics.

Research profile

Cath is an Associate Professor for Mathematics Education in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. She is a researcher in early and primary mathematics education, leading projects on early number development, spatial reasoning, early patterning practice, practitioner perspectives on play in mathematics and mathematics educators’ professional learning. Having previously been a lecturer in Initial Teacher Education, Cath was originally a primary school teacher in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire for fourteen years. Cath is an experienced designer of mathematics resources and professional development, including for the Department for Education in England. Cath is the Cohort Studies Lead for the Observatory for Mathematical Education as well as leading the primary cohort study.

Research profile

Jeremy Hodgen is a Professor of Mathematics Education.  He has extensive expertise all aspects of mathematics education and has published widely on mathematics education, teacher education, assessment, international comparisons and standards over time and the design and evaluation of educational interventions. His current research projects include a systematic review of effective ways of teaching mathematics in secondary education for the Education Endowment Foundation and a comparison of different approaches to grouping students for secondary mathematics lessons in England. His Nuffield Foundation funded reports examining participation in post-16 mathematics have been highly influential in policy on studying mathematics to age 18. He has been a member of the Royal Society’s Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) and Chair of the British Society for Research into the Learning of Mathematics (BSRLM) and is currently a member of ACME’s Post-16 Contact Group. He served on the then Prime Minister’s Expert Advisory Group on Maths to 18. Currently, he also holds professorial positions at University College London and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and was previously a Professor of Mathematics Education at King’s College London. Before becoming an academic, he taught mathematics in primary and secondary schools.

Research profile

Marie is a Senior Research Fellow based in the Centre for Research in Mathematics Education (CRME) based in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. She began her professional life as a teacher of mathematics and computing and later moved into educational research having completed a PhD in which she investigated the use of digital technologies in the teaching and learning of mathematics. She has worked on a range of research projects broadly in the areas of mathematics education, digital technologies and professional development for teachers. Most recently she made a major contribution to the successful Centres for Excellence in Mathematics (CfEM) randomised controlled trial of approaches to teaching GCSE mathematics in post-16 settings and the Counting Collections randomised controlled trial of approaches to teaching early number.

Research profile

Balbir Kaur is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham where she leads on the primary maths programme and is an academic tutor on the primary PGCE programme. Balbir’s research interests are closely aligned with her professional practice that centre on social justice and equity. Her research interests include investigating socially just approaches to learning and teaching of mathematics that explore curriculum design and content formation. She has worked with beginning primary school teachers to address some of the myths and misconceptions about the nature of who can and cannot do maths. In addition, Balbir’s research aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Goals and primary STEM related concepts to address social justice. 

More broadly Balbir has been involved in several small projects that have examined anti-racism, equity and diversity in a range of educational settings. Previously, Balbir has worked as a Director of Equity and Diversity in Education and Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education. Her foundational knowledge base stems from her experiences as a primary school teacher in diverse schools and a lead mathematics teacher for a local authority.

Research profile

Stephen studied for a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics with Education. He then became the first PhD student in the newly created Mathematics Education Centre at Loughborough University. His thesis focussed on the repercussions in higher education of the changes in the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools in England, following the introduction of 'Curriculum 2000'.   

Between 2006 and 2024 Stephen worked for the charity and curriculum development organisation Mathematics in Education and Industry. He led on research, evaluation and data across MEI’s portfolio of work, including for the national Advanced Mathematics Support Programme. He joined the Observatory for Mathematical Education in 2024 as a Senior Research Fellow. 

Stephen has authored/co-authored over 100 publications across a wide range of mathematics education topics. These include an undergraduate mathematics textbook, A level mathematics revision guide, journal articles, reports and national/international conference proceedings. He is a Chartered Mathematician, a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Research profile

Marc is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham, where he has worked as a tutor on the Primary and Secondary Maths PGCE programmes. He has a specific research and professional interest in forms of mathematics that prepare students for more empowered real-world practice – including quantitative literacy and mathematical modelling. He also works closely with beginning and experienced teachers to explore teaching strategies and resources that support children who find Maths difficult, and which reduce emphasis on memorisation - such as using manipulatives, representations and real-life contexts. Previously he worked for a large trust of primary schools in Nottingham City as an Associate Headteacher, working in a Maths and school/leadership-improvement role. He is a workgroup lead for both the East Midlands West and East Midlands East Maths Hub, focused on subject-knowledge development for Primary ECT’s and Primary-Secondary transition. He also collaborates with the Derby Research School to offer professional development and in-school leadership support for local schools.

Research profile

Emma is a Research Fellow at the Observatory for Mathematical Education. Emma studied Physical Education with Mathematics in Dublin City University (2012-2016) and subsequently completed her PhD in Mathematics Education in 2022. Her research interests lie in initial teacher education, mathematical problem solving, and Lesson Study. Emma was a postdoctoral researcher in University College Dublin working on a project which focused on supporting Lesson Study in secondary schools. Prior to this, Emma worked in a secondary school in Dublin for six years. 

Katie has been an Assistant Professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences since 2019, before this she completed her PhD in statistics here. Katie has experience applying statistical and machine learning methods to analyse large datasets, with past projects ranging from statistical analysis of text data to using maternity data to help improve the rights and health of women in Tanzania. Katie currently lectures first to final year university students in statistics and is active in creating inclusive learning environments. She is also passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and has led many EDI initiatives, particularly in encouraging and celebrating diversity within maths. She was a co-writer for the University of Nottingham’s gold, gender equality, Athena Swan award and sits on the London Mathematical Society's Women and Diversity committee. She is particularly excited to work in the Observatory where she can make maths a more inclusive subject for everyone.  

Research profile

Inga is a Research Fellow at the Observatory for Mathematical Education. Prior to joining the University of Nottingham, she completed her PhD in Social Policy at the University of Oxford, focusing on the school-to-work transitions of British (STEM) graduates, and how they are shaped by gender and family background. Alongside her PhD, Inga worked on a research project investigating the schooling and social origin of elite groups in Britain, including Fellows of the Royal Society. She also contributed to a range of EDI initiatives at the University of Oxford, focusing on graduate access in particular. Inga approaches the study of mathematical education from a sociological/policy perspective and is particularly interested in how societal inequalities shape student experiences and outcomes.

Research profile

Lisa is a Senior Research Fellow in the Observatory for Mathematical Education, with a particular interest in quantitative research methods and large-scale data analysis. She began her career as a secondary geography teacher before pursuing an MSc in demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in epidemiology and applied statistics at the University of Nottingham.

Prior to joining the Observatory, Lisa spent 15 years in an academic role in the University's School of Medicine and brings a wealth of experience in managing and analysing quantitative data, from small local survey datasets to extremely large datasets of routinely collected data.

Geoff is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education and has a long-established track record of research and design in and of curriculum, assessment, teacher professional learning and engagement with and learning of mathematics quite widely. His work has often had a post-16 and out of subject domain learning focus such as mathematics in other subject areas and workplaces. He has much experience of working with researchers internationally including in Japan, the United States and Europe. He is Chair of Trustees of the educational charity Collaborative Lesson Research and supports close-to-practice research that attempts to provide insights into classroom teaching and learning.

Most recently Geoff has led a number of large-scale randomised controlled trials and designs of interventions that aim to improve classroom teaching. These have primarily focused on outcomes at GCSE and GCSE resits (in post-16 settings). He continues to be active in European and international organisations supporting mathematics education research.