Mathematical cognition research focuses on understanding the processes by which students come to understand mathematical ideas, with a view to improving educational practice, and we have a particular reputation for our work on numerical cognition and mathematical reasoning.

In 2019 funding from Research England allowed us to establish a new Centre for Mathematical Cognition, with dedicated staff, refurbished labs and new research equipment. As a result, we now host one of the largest mathematical cognition research groups in the world.

Visit the Centre for Mathematical Cognition website for more information.

Our research in this area aims to design, develop and evaluate pedagogical interventions, based on a rigorous understanding of students’ learning processes. We research how mathematics tasks, lessons and curricula may be designed and implemented in classrooms in schools and colleges to support students’ learning of mathematics. We also contribute to debates across education about the ways in which evidence can and should inform practice. Notable recent projects in this area have included a systematic evaluation of how much new information is provided by rigorous large-scale randomised controlled trials, of the type commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation and the National Centre on Education and the Economy.

We have a long history of researching mathematics education at a university level and have expertise in a broad range of areas relating to the analysis of teaching and learning of university mathematics. This includes different approaches to assessment, the measurement of conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning development and expert mathematical practice. Notable recent projects in this area have investigated the extent to which post-compulsory mathematical study develops general reasoning skills (funded by the Royal Society), and student difficulties at the transition to higher education (funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England).