2019 Conference Proceedings

CLEMENTS-FOYSTER LECTURE

Applying and building on what we know: Issues at the intersection of research and practice  – Dianne Siemon

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Investigating What It Takes to Improve the Quality of Mathematics Teaching and Learning on a Large Scale – Paul Cobb

Using Learning Trajectories to Personalise and Improve Math(s) Instruction at Scale – Jere Confrey

From Children’s Thinking to Curriculum to Professional Development to Scale:  Research Impacting Early Maths Practice – Julie Sarama, Douglas Clement

RESEARCH SYMPOSIA

STEM and Digital Technologies in Play Based Environments: A New Approach – Douglas Clement (Chair), Tom Lowrie, Kevin Larkin, Tracy Logan

A study of school mathematics curriculum enacted by teachers in Singapore secondary schools: Singapore enactment project – Berinderjeet Kaur (Chair), Toh Tin Lam Toh, Leong Yew Hoong, Tong Cherng Luen, Tay Eng Guan, Lee Ngan Hoe, Ng Kit Ee Dawn, Yeo Boon Wooi Joseph, Yeo Kai Kow Joseph, Liyana Safii, Cheng Lu Pien, and Toh Wei Yeng Karen, Quek Khiok Seng

Research Methods Involving Children’s Drawings in Mathematical Contexts – Joanne Mulligan (Chair), Amy MacDonald, Steven Murphy, Jennifer Way, Jennifer Thom, Kate Quane, Mohan Chinnappan, Sven Trenholm, Jill Cheeseman, Andrea McDonough

RESEARCH PAPERS

Working Towards Equity in Mathematics Education: Is Differentiation the Answer? – Glenda Anthony, Jodie Hunter, Roberta Hunter

Numeracy Across the Curriculum in Initial Teacher Education – Anne Bennison

“The Task is Not the Challenge”: Changing Teachers’ Practices to Support Student Struggle in Mathematics – Janette Bobis, Michelle Tregoning

Does the NAPLAN match the Australian Mathematics Curriculum? – Paul Brown, Kok-Sing Tang

Factors that Influenced Year 11 Students’ Choices to Use CAS for Selected Algebra Problems – Scott Cameron, Lynda Ball

“Because 7 and 8 are always in all of them”: What do Students Write and Say to Demonstrate their Mathematical Fluency? – Katherin Cartwright

How Do Teachers Learn? Different Mechanisms of Teacher In-Class Learning – Man Ching Esther Chan, Anne Roche, David J. Clarke, Doug M. Clarke

Using video-based mathematics lesson analysis to develop pre-service teachers’ reflective practice – Samukeliso Chikiwa, Mellony Graven

Teachers’ Perspectives on the use of Interactive Whiteboards in Mathematics to Support Students’ Learning – Fiona Collins

Mathematics in Initial Teacher Education Programs in Sweden, Germany, and Australia – Audrey Cooke, Lars Jenßen, Eva Norén

Pāsifika Students’ Perspectives and Understandings of Mathematics Embedded Within Their Lives Beyond the Classroom – Libby Cunningham

Re-thinking fraction instruction in primary school: The case for an alternative approach in the early years – Chelsea Cutting

Conceptualising the critical factors that influence teachers’ mathematics planning decisions for student-centred learning – Aylie Davidson

Impact of spiral teaching on quadratics: Action research with Grade 11 students in Mauritius – Ridhwaanah Hanna Dhunny, Khemduth Singh Angateeah

The Impact of Whole School Professional Learning on Students’ Multiplicative Thinking – Ann Downton, Kerry Giumelli, Barbara McHugh, Tammy Roosen, Nadine Meredith, Geraldine Caleta, Melissa King, Kathryn Salkeld, Paul Stenning

The Case of Disappearing and Reappearing Zeros: A Disconnection Between Procedural Knowledge and Conceptual Understanding – Ann Downton, James Russo, Sarah Hopkins

Use it or Lose it: Mathematics for Language Maintenance – Cris Edmonds-Wathen

Multi-Dimensional Instructional Frameworks:  A Promising Form of Domain-Specific Instructional Design  – David Ellemor-Collins, Bob Wright

The affective impact of inclusive secondary mathematics for learners with Down syndrome: “I just love it!” – Rhonda Faragher, Kim Beswick, Monica Cuskelly, Karen Nankervis

Introducing Guided Mathematical Inquiry in the Classroom: Complexities of Developing Norms of Evidence – Jill Fielding-Wells, Kym Fry

Strategy Use in Mathematics Assessment: Does Spatial Reasoning Matter? – Alex Forndran, Tom Lowrie, Danielle Harris

Undergraduates’ Uses of Examples in Introductory Topology: The Structural Example – Keith Gallagher, Nicole Infante

Designing Individual Goals to Enhance the Numeracy of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities – Lorraine Gaunt, Jana Visnovska, Karen Moni

Insights About the Progress of Grade 1 Children Who Are Mathematically Vulnerable and Participate in a Mathematics Intervention Program – Ann Gervasoni, Anne Roche, Kerry Giumelli, Barbara McHugh

What gendered constructs about mathematics do parents have as their children begin school in Australia? – Rachelle Glynn

Impact of a National Professional Development Program on the Beliefs and Practices of Out-of-Field Teachers of Mathematics – Merrilyn Goos, Máire Ní Ríordáin, Ciara Lane, Fiona Faulkner

Primary Pre-service Teachers’ Noticing of Structural Thinking in Mathematics – Mark Gronow, Michael Cavanagh, Joanne Mulligan

What Australian Students Say They Value Most in Their Mathematics Learning – Cindy Di Han, Wee Tiong Seah

STEM Learning Environments: Perceptions of STEM Education Researchers – Vesife Hatisaru, Kim Beswick, Sharon Fraser

Challenges in assessing mathematical reasoning – Sandra Herbert

Is ‘Capacity’ Volume? Understandings of 11 – 12 year old Children – Angeline Ho, Heather McMaster

Exploring the dynamics of changing teaching – Sally Hughes

Individualism and Collectivism: Examining Student Mathematical Identity in Hierarchal Grouping Arrangements – Jennifer James

Teacher Noticing of Primary Students’ Mathematical Reasoning in a Problem-solving Task – Dan Jazby, Wanty Widjaja

Student re-engagement and valuing of mathematics learning through an intervention program – Penelope Kalogeropoulos, Michele Klooger, James Russo, Peter Sullivan

Exploring 10th Grade Students’ Self-directed Learning in a Mathematics Problem-based Learning Classroom – Napason Kampinkaew, Duanghathai Katwibun

Maths anxiety and poor performance: Targeted tuition to break the vicious cycle – Eugenie Kestel

What can be more challenging than square-rooting from squared things? – Igor’ Kontorovich

Queensland Pre-service Teachers’ Beliefs on the Integration of Children’s Literature in Mathematics Teaching: A Pilot Case Study – Kevin Larkin, Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai

Strength Based Grouping: A Call for Change – Generosa Leach

The Mathematics Enrolment Choice Motivation Instrument – Ning Li

The variability effect in high and low guidance instruction: A cognitive load perspective – Vicki Likourezos, Slava Kalyuga

Connecting Mathematics with Science to Enhance Student Achievement- A Position Paper – Jake Little

Enhancing a mathematics leader’s knowledge for teaching through a co-teaching situation – Sharyn Livy, Marie Yanni, Ann Downton, Tracey Muir

What is Mathematics Education for Children under Three? A Snapshot of Findings from a National Survey – Amy MacDonald

Subject Matter Knowledge: It Matters!  – Christine Mae

Young children’s movement in outside spaces: could this reveal mathematical awareness? – Catherine McCluskey, Joanne Mulligan, Penny Van Bergen

Describing and Prescribing Classroom Practice: Do We Have a Common Language? – Carmel Mesiti, David Clarke, Jan van Driel

Developing Mathematical Resilience Among Diverse Learners: Preliminary Progress and Problematics – John Griffith Moala, Roberta Hunter

Exploring the role of visual imagery in learning mathematics – Carol Murphy

Practices contributing to Mathematics success in a low socioeconomic rural Victorian school – Steve Murphy

Investigation of 10th Grade Students’ Agency and Authority in a Mathematics Problem-Based Learning Classroom – Phongwasu Naimsamphao, Duanghathai Katwibun

Technology and the Knowledge Quartet – Greg Oates, Rosemary Callingham, Seyum Getenet, Ian Hay, Kim Beswick, Damon Thomas

An Analysis of Teacher Language in Primary Mathematics: A Comparison of Two Differing Approaches – Lisa O’Keeffe

Recognising Mathematical Giftedness – Linda Parish

A Large-scale PD Intervention for Improvement of Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge in Disadvantaged Communities – Sitti Patahuddin, Ajay Ramful, Siti Rokhmah

Monitoring and Prompting Emergent Algebraic Reasoning in the Middle Years: Using Reverse Fraction Tasks – Catherine Pearn, Max Stephens, Robyn Pierce

Students’ understanding of randomness after an introductory tertiary statistics course – Robyn Reaburn

Lesson Study: Investigating How Facilitators Support Teacher Noticing – Rachel Restani, Jodie Hunter, Roberta Hunter

Place-based mathematics and Projection Augmented Landscape Models (PALM) on the Tiwi Islands: Building Powerful Aboriginal Hypothetical Learning Trajectory – Joël Rioux, Michael Michie, Michelle Hogue, Rohan Fisher

Learning Progressions for Students working within Level 1 of the New Zealand Mathematics Curriculum – Julie Roberts, Vince Wright

Yes, it is “immersion” of a sort, but not one that conduces to mathematical sense-making – Sally-Ann Robertson, Mellony Graven

The Impact of Teacher Interest-Led Inquiry on the Student Learning Experience – Toby Russo, James Russo

11th Grade Students’ Self-Beliefs in a Mathematics Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Classroom – Supatchana Sangkaew, Duanghathai Katwibun

An exploratory study on students’ reasoning about symmetry – Rebecca Seah, Marj Horne

The Heaviness of Objects and Heaviness of a Material Kind: Some 11 to 12-year-old Children’s Understandings of Mass and Density – Leane Senzamici, Heather McMaster

Assessment for Learning Techniques in the Pacific Island Context: What are Teachers’ Views? – Penelope Serow, Julie Clark

Impact of Teachers’ Participation in Networked Learning Community on Classroom Practices – Cynthia Seto

Object-Motives of Mathematics Leaders’ Professional Learning Leadership During Participation in a Mathematics Project – Matt Sexton

Addressing Language Barriers in Multilingual Statistics Classrooms: A Collaborative Study – Sashi Sharma

Developing an understanding of shapes and their representations in multilingual primary school classes: A systematic literature review – Shweta Sharma

A Teacher’s Approach to Creating Learning Opportunities and Supporting Students to Make Contributions: A Case Study in Iran – Sara Haghighi Siahgorabi, Jana Visnovska

Primary School Teachers’ Experience of Mathematics Education – Sarah Tamburri, Paula Mildenhall, Fiona Budgen

Passing a Proof Message: Student-Teacher Communication Through A Commognitive Lens – Eng Guan Tay, Weng Kin Ho, Lim Seo Hong, Yew Hoong Leong, Teo Kok Ming

Learning from Their Mistakes – An Online Approach to Evaluate Teacher Education Students’ Numeracy Capability – Thuan Thai, Kate Hartup, Adelle Colbourn, Amanda Yeung

Teaching number fact and computational fluency: teachers’ perceptions and impact upon practice – Catherine Thiele, Shelley Dole, Peter Carmichael, Jenny Simpson, Christine O’Toole

Operationalize Mathematical Sophistication in a Collaborative Problem-solving: A Conceptual Paper – Dung Tran, John Munro

Tensions in mathematics home-school partnerships – Bridget Wadham, Lisa Darragh, Fiona Ell

Practicing Statistics in Year 4 – Jane Watson, Noleine Fitzallen, Suzie Wright

Preschool Children’s Drawings of ‘Tall and Short’ – Jennifer Way

Striking a Balance between Children’s Need of Support and Parental Roles in Mathematics Homework – Daya Weerasinghe

Learning through critiquing: Investigating students’ responses to others’ graphs of a real-life functional situation – Karina Wilkie, Michal Ayalon

Students’ Ability to Solve Mental Rotation Items: Gender Perspective Within a Disadvantaged Community – Destina Wahyu Winarti, Sitti Maesuri Patahuddin

Academic numeracy and first year undergraduate studies across six regional universities – Geoff Woolcott, Linda Galligan, Robert Whannell, Margaret Marshman, Taryn Axelsen

Studying Student Interactive Positioning in Collaborative Mathematics Problem Solving: The Case of Four Chinese Students – Shu Zhang, Man Ching Esther Chan, Yiming Cao

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

Learning from Lessons: A Study on Structure and Construction of Mathematics Teacher Knowledge – First Results of German Case Studies – Daniel Barton, Judith Huget

A Comparative Analysis of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Secondary School Mathematics – Brantina Chirinda, Kim Beswick

Teacher and Students’ Experiences in the Oral Assessment – Cho, Hyungmi, Ko, Eun-Sung

Teaching as Professional Learning: towards a more sustainable model for mathematics teacher professional development – Ban Heng Choy, Jaguthsing Dindyal

On-line mathematics instruction: Augmenting or replacing the role of the teacher? – Lisa Darragh

Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about Numeracy – Diana Doust

Can teachers adopting a more connectionist approach achieve better student performance in mathematics? – Shyam Drury

Mathematics Identity research: where have we got to and where to from here – Mellony Graven, Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim

Lower Secondary Students’ Perceptions of Mathematics Classroom Environment – Vesife Hatısaru

Narrative mathematical learner identities of high school learners – Wellington Hokonya, Pamela Vale, Mellony Graven

The perspectives of researchers when undertaking work involving cultural contexts in mathematics education – Jodie Hunter, Jodie Miller

Teacher self-efficacy: Impact on pedagogy – Naomi Ingram, David Berg, Mustafa Asil, Jeff Smith

Assessing Conditional Reasoning – Christina W. Lommatsch, Warren W. Esty

Analysing institutional identities authorised for South African foundation year teachers – Roxanne Long

Paradigm Shifts in Mathematics – Terence Mills, Aimé Sacrez

From Arithmetic to Emergent Algebraic Thinking: Case Studies in Three Australian Schools – Joshua Moore, Greg Oates, Bruce White, Rosemary Callingham

Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science (IMS) Learning in the Primary School – Joanne Mulligan, Russell Tytler

The development of a spatial reasoning assessment interview in the primary grades – Joanne Mulligan, Geoff Woolcott, Michael Mitchelmore, Brent Davis

Changing students’ attitudes to mathematics through WebQuests: Evidence from Qatar – Carol Murphy, Nigel Calder, Abdullah Abu-Tineh, Nasser Mansour

Transformation of comprehended ideas: A teacher’s choice of examples – Lay Keow Ng, Jaguthsing Dindyal

Effective Professional Learning: Improving Impact – Michael O’Connor

Teaching for the Conceptual Understanding of Fractions: The Role of the Official Curriculum – Maria Quigley

Relation between Mathematics Achievement, Fraction Magnitude Estimation, and Proportional Reasoning: A Cross-Cultural Study – Ilyse Resnick, Micah B. Goldwater, Nora S. Newcombe

The Mathematical Discourse in Instruction Framework as Knowledge Resource for Teachers – Erlina Ronda

From teacher churn to adaptive practice: Supporting out-of-field mathematics teachers’ transdisciplinary practice – Colleen Vale

Communicating mathematical concepts in diverse languages: Lessons from a cross-continental collaboration – Pamela Vale, Mellony Graven, Jana Visnovska, Jose Luis Cortina

An investigation of the effectiveness of screencast technology as an assessment tool in mathematics learning – Tracey Walls

A Conceptual Framework for Designing Pedagogical Problems to Investigate Mathematics Teachers’ Pedagogical Reasoning – Kai-Lin Yang

Teacher-student relationship and mathematical problem solving ability: Mediating roles of self-efficacy and math anxiety – Da Zhou, Xiaofeng Du

POSTERS

Intermediate Frameworks and Design Tools Emerging from Iterative Process of Designing Data Modelling Activities – Kai-Lin Yang

ROUND TABLES

NAPLAN numeracy, single-sex schools, and SES – Gilah Leder, Helen Forgasz

Barely functional: students’ misconceptions of functions and related notation – Michael Jennings, Merrilyn Goos, Peter Adams

Developing an equitable opportunity to learn: Does withdrawing students do harm? – Fiona McDiarmid, Heather Lewis

Defining and Measuring Pre-service Teacher Satisfaction with Professional Teaching Experiences – Joanne Goodell

What does pedagogical reasoning imply for teachers of mathematics? – Jaguthsing Dindyal, Ban Heng Choy

Factors that influence teachers of Years 7-10 Mathematics adopting pedagogies that support students’ development of STEM capabilities and 21st century skills – Rachael Whitney-Smith, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Short Communications & Round Tables

The following documents are essential to read and complete when considering submitting a short communication or round table to the MERGA conference (available in the Submission section of this website).

  • MERGA Paper Template – to be used to write the abstracts which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website
  • MERGA Publication Agreement – to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the abstract submission

Short communications are suitable for reports that do not fully meet the requirements for published papers. These might include works in preliminary stages, reports of pilot projects, initial reviews of literature, ideas or suggestions for future study, and briefer discussions of particular issues. Short communications allow new researchers to obtain feedback on projects in a constructive and supportive environment, and foster the building of links between researchers with similar interests.

Abstracts are required for short communications and round tables. They must be prepared using the conference template. The abstracts will be reviewed by the Editorial Team and, if accepted, will be published in the conference proceedings. Presenters are invited to prepare a paper for distribution at the conference, but these papers will not be included in the proceedings.

Presentation of short communications – Short communications are presented by author(s) only. At least 5 minutes is to be allocated for audience questions and open discussion.

Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award

The Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award (BSPIA) recognises high-quality mathematics education that produces insights for the teaching profession and/or student learning.

The award consists of $500 and a plaque to be presented at the Conference.

Nomination process 

There are two ways a paper can be nominated for the BSPIA:

  • Self-nomination: When you submit your conference paper, check the box that asks if you would like to apply for the BSPIA.
  • Nomination via peer-review: Anyone who submits a Conference paper for peer-review will be considered for nomination by the reviewers. 

Single and co-authored papers are eligible for consideration.

When you write your paper, please ensure that you observe all general paper submission requirements including the maximum page length.

Judging process

Submissions must be deemed eligible for publication in the Conference proceedings by the initial reviewing panel. Submissions accepted for presentation only will be excluded from consideration.

The judging panel will consist of two MERGA members and two AAMT nominees and will be chaired by the VP Development.

The judging criteria are:

  • Identification of a persistent and significant research problem
  • Synthesis of recent research literature and relevant policy initiatives
  • Robust methodology producing valid, reliable findings
  • Insightful discussion of practical implications for the teaching profession and/or student learning
  • Clear, succinct style of academic writing

Winners are notified four weeks prior to the Conference and are invited to present a keynote at the annual conference.

The Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award page on this website provides further information, including the history of the award and recent winners.  

Research Papers

The following documents are essential to read and complete when considering submitting a research paper to the MERGA conference (available in the Submission section of this website).

  • MERGA Paper Template – to be used to write the papers which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website
  • MERGA Publication Agreement – to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the paper submission

Research papers can take two major forms: 

1. Reports of empirical investigations 

When empirical investigations are reported (such as in an experimental intervention, confirmatory study, or action research, etc.), the paper should also include

  • a statement of rationale for methodologies used in collecting and analysing data;
  • a critical discussion of data findings in the light of the research literature; and
  • in the literature review, prior work in the area should be acknowledged and an explanation of how the work reported in the paper builds on that earlier work should be included.

2. Reports that are not based on empirical research including:

  • a theoretical discussion;
  • a position paper;
  • a report of scholarly enquiry in progress;
  • a literature review, a meta-study;
  • an account of a new initiative;
  • a reflective critique of practice; or
  • any mixture of these or other recognised scholarly forms.

When the work is a theoretical discussion, a position paper, a report of scholarly inquiry in progress, a review of literature, a theoretical study, a meta-study, an account of a new initiative, a reflective critique of practice or any mixture of these or other recognised scholarly forms, the material presented must be discussed critically, and alternative points of view relating to themes presented should be appropriately argued.
It is expected that presenting authors will have 40 minutes to present their work at the conference. At least 10 minutes must be allowed to field questions and comments from the audience.

Structure of research papers – All papers for publication in the conference proceedings should contain the following:

  • a statement of the problem/issue and a discussion of its significance;
  • a critical analysis of the research literature as it relates to the topic of the paper; and
  • conclusions and implications for mathematics education derived from the study.

All papers must respect MERGA’s ethical guidelines relating to research work. Papers should not be more than the set length. (Formatting details and WORD template are available from the submissions). In addition, papers must be: readable; free of grammatical, spelling and typographical errors; and adhere strictly to style requirements advertised by the conference proceedings Editorial Team.

Originality – Only research papers that are substantially different from work that has been published previously will be considered for publication in the conference proceedings and/or presentation at the conference.

Reviewing of research papers – Research papers will be blind reviewed by a panel of peers approved by the conference committee. The main purpose of the refereeing process is to contribute to the growth and development of quality practice in mathematics education research. Thus reviewers are asked to assist authors by providing helpful feedback and to comment on the suitability of papers for presentation at the conference. Accordingly, it will not be assumed that published papers presented at the conference will be as polished as articles in scholarly journals. Referees will be asked to assess papers being reviewed against the accepted norms for scholarly works presented at MERGA conferences, as set out above.

Each conference proceedings’ Editorial Team will exercise discretion over the reviewing process.

Reviewers’ comments will be returned to the authors. Authors whose papers are not accepted for publication may be invited by the editorial panel to present their paper at the conference, with an abstract (only) being published in the proceedings. Papers may be rejected outright, with no opportunity for presentation at the conference in an alternative form.

The MERGA website has detailed advice about criteria for reviewing of MERGA papers, review forms, and examples of strong and poor reviews of different types.

Presentation of research papers – Research papers are presented by author(s) only. A maximum of 30 minutes may be used for presenting the paper, and at least 10 minutes is then used for audience questions and open discussion.

Research Symposia

The following documents are essential to read and complete when considering submitting a research symposium to the MERGA conference (available in the Submission section of this website).

  • MERGA Paper Template (to be used to write the papers which are then submitted to the MERGA conference website)
  • MERGA Publication Agreement (to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the paper submission)

Presentation of groups of published papers related by theme in the form of a research symposium is encouraged. The symposium forum will be particularly suitable for presentations relating to a single large project or presentations that explore topical themes from different and/or related perspectives. Special Interest Groups [SIGs] are encouraged to consider the symposium option as a means for sharing and discussing current research.

A symposium should consist of no more than four presentations of about 15 minutes duration each. The written papers should be half the length of research papers as described for research papers. Both research report types – empirical or non-empirical – are acceptable as published symposium papers.

A brief overview of the symposium (limit one page), including a symposium title, an introduction to the theme/project, and a short introduction to each of the 3-4 contributions, must be submitted with the set of short papers. Please list the symposium convenors as the authors on the first page, and name the paper authors in the text description.

The symposium proposer will also nominate a person to chair the symposium, and a discussant can also be named if desired. This information should accompany the collection of papers submitted for review.

The set of symposium papers (and the overview) will be blind reviewed by a review panel. The main purpose of the reviews is the same as for published papers, and the same criteria are used. The reviewers will be asked to consider the cohesiveness of the set of symposium papers. They will indicate whether the symposium as a whole, and each paper within it, should be “accepted”, “rejected” or if it “requires revision”. If it is deemed that one, some or all of the papers are in need of revision, the reviewers will outline which papers need to be revised and provide suggestions for the required changes. When the revisions are made, the symposium papers will be re-submitted and the set of papers will be sent to the same review panel for further consideration. As with research papers, the final decision about which symposium papers will be published is at the discretion of the Editorial Team.

The date for submission of the collection of symposium papers is the same as for Early Bird papers. This date has been set for the benefit of the group of authors of symposia papers. Should the symposium papers require revision, the authors will have the time to make the corrections and resubmit the set of symposium papers to be re-reviewed by the original reviewers.

Presentation of symposia: Symposia are presented by author(s) only, usually within a 90 min block. At least 10 minutes must be allocated for audience questions and open discussion.

Early Career Research Award

In order to encourage new researchers in mathematics education, MERGA sponsors an award to an author in the early part of her/his career. The award, for excellence in writing and presenting a piece of mathematics education research, consists of a plaque and a prize of $500 and is presented at the annual conference. 

Applying for the award

Entry for the Early Career Research Award is by submission of a written paper for presentation at the conference through the Early Bird process. Conditions of eligibility, information about the judging process, and the criteria judges will observe are indicated below. If you are applying for the Early Career Research Award, please ensure that when you upload your paper on the conference website, you also send an email to the Conference Secretariat indicating that you are an entrant for the Early Career Research Award. Note that at some MERGA conferences there is also a form to complete or a box to tick on the registration form, so check the conference website carefully. Please note that co-authored papers ARE NOT eligible for entry into the Early Career Research Award, nor are Round Table or Symposium papers.

Rules and eligibility for the Early Career Award

The Early Career Research Award page on this website provides further information about this award, including a list of recent winners.

Early Bird Review Process

The Early Bird review process is a form of mentoring, principally for new researchers. However, anyone is eligible to make use of it. Research papers submitted through the Early Bird process must be received by the Early Bird due date (i.e., the closing date in January). They must meet the requirements as set out for MERGA Research Papers. Early Bird papers should be uploaded following a link on the conference website. Authors will be asked to create a login into Oxford Abstracts (our conference management system) and submit the blinded file (anonymised) in the correct template for review.

Early Bird papers undergo a double-blind MERGA reviewing process. There are three possible outcomes of the review, and actions the authors need to follow.

  1. When the paper is accepted (for presentation at the conference and publication in the proceedings), the authors will be asked to provide their full unblinded manuscript and publication agreement.
  2. When small revisions are required, the revised papers will need to be resubmitted by the main submission deadline in March. The changes are considered by the editors, and the papers are not usually sent out for review again. The editors decide whether the paper is accepted for publication as well as presentation at the conference.
  3. When more major revisions are required, the reviewers will provide the author/s with feedback on how to how to strengthen the paper. The paper will need to be resubmitted by the main submission deadline in March, and it will be sent out for a new double-blind review.

Authors are notified of the outcome as soon as possible (usually within a few weeks, and in time for resubmission). Letters are sent to authors to indicate (a) accepted for publication, (b) small revisions required, (c) or major rewriting required.