Scholarship Projects

Can undergraduates convert $100 to a foreign currency?

Why do we need to study math? This is one of the common questions that students raise all over the world. One of the common answers that teachers give, touches upon the usefulness of mathematics in everyday-life situations.

The scholarship student will check the claimed useful in the case of Stage-I students. Specifically, after 13 years of mathematics studies, more than 100 students were asked to put their arithmetical knowledge in use for converting $100 to a foreign currency. The scholarship student will evaluate students’ success, analyse the methods that they used, and identify common misconceptions.

This project is intended for all students with a solid mathematical background and a genuine interest in educational issues. A background in statistics is an advantage. Students who completed MATHS202, MATHS303, and/or have some teaching experience are encouraged to apply.

Students' mistakes as a window into their mathematical thinking

In the daily teaching-and-learning reality, we treat mistakes as something to be avoided. If you think about assessment, for example, it often acts as an institutionalized punishment for those who struggle with the subject. From the perspective of mathematics education research, however, these struggles provide a window into silent mechanisms of students’ thinking. Hence, the enhanced interest in the errors that students make.

The scholarship student will get access to data where Stage-I students were encouraged to articulate some of their mathematical difficulties and mistakes. The scholarship student will categorize these into misconceptions and analyse possible ways to overcome them.

This project is intended for all students with a solid mathematical background and a genuine interest in educational issues. Students who completed MATHS202, MATHS303, and/or have some teaching experience are encouraged to apply.

For more information and expressions of interest please send an e-mail to i.kontorovich@auckland.ac.nz. Depending on applicants' interests, other projects can be discussed.