Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search


Trinity College Dublin By using this website you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the Trinity cookie policy. For more information on cookies see our cookie policy.

      
Profile Photo

Ms. Elizabeth Oldham

Adjunct Assistant Professor (Pure & Applied Mathematics)

 eoldham@tcd.ie

 


Biography

Elizabeth Oldham's main work is in the field of mathematics education. She has a long association with cross-national studies of curriculum and attainment: she was a member of the international Curriculum Analysis Group for the Second International Mathematics Study in the 1980s; she worked with the Educational Research Centre in Dublin with regard to curriculum aspects of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study in the 1990s; and was a member of the National Advisory Committee for the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and is a member of the National TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] Post-Primary Advisory Group. She served as an Education Officer (Mathematics) for the Irish National Council for Curriculum and Assessment while the school mathematics courses were being revised in the 1990s. Her current work is chiefly on aspects of teaching and learning mathematics, particularly with regard to teachers' and prospective teachers' philosophies of mathematics and mathematical identities, but also on prospective teachers' understanding of concepts. Her other main field of interest is in the field of computer science and the use of ICTs in education. She served on the ICT Steering Committee of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and now works especially with colleagues in the Trinity College Centre for Research in IT in Education. With the revival of interest in computer programming in schools, she is also engaged in research in this area. She is a former President of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (2000-2002) and for many years was co-chair of a Research and Development Community ("Science and Mathematics Education") of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe. She is currently Treasurer of the Dublin Branch of the Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association and has chaired the Dublin Branch of the Computers in Education Society of Ireland; she serves on the national executives of both bodies. A former teacher at Alexandra College, Dublin, she served on the school's Council (governing body) for over thirty years.

Research Tags

  Comparative Education   Computer Education/Literacy   Educational/Instructional Technology   Elementary/Secondary Education   Mathematics Education   Precollegiate Education--Science/Mathematics   Teacher Education

Research Projects

 The Programming Studio
 An exploration of Mathematical Identity using Narrative as a Tool (MINT)
 The effect of calculator use on mathematics in schools and in Certificate examinations
 Mathscify: Designing low threshold, high ceiling tasks that engage all students in problem solving and problem posing in STEM education

Representations

Details Date
Reviewer for Irish Educational Studies Current
Reviewer for the European Journal of Teacher Education Current

Languages

Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Medium Medium
German Medium Basic Basic
Irish Medium Basic Basic

Memberships

Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies

Details Date From Date To
Educational Studies Association of Ireland 1977 Present
Association for Teacher Education in Europe 1981 Present
Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association 1970 Present
Computers in Education Society of Ireland 1973 Present
Irish Mathematical Society 2014 Present
Stephen Curran and Elizabeth Oldham, Investigation of the Degree to which the Study of the Old Applied Mathematics Course Affected Students" Performance in Other Leaving Certificate Subjects, Ninth Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI 9), Dublin City University, 2023, edited by Aisling Twohill and Stephen Quirke , 2023, pp116 - 123, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Ciarán Duffy and Elizabeth Oldham, Problems for Teachers? Views of Members of the Irish Mathematics Teachers' Association on Current Issues in Mathematics Education, Ninth Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI 9), Dublin City University, 2023, edited by Aisling Twohill and Stephen Quirke , DCU Institute of Education, Dublin City University, 2023, pp132 - 139, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Elizabeth Oldham & Aibhín Bray, Innovative experiential practice(s) in teacher education: A case study in an Irish university, The Mathematics Education for the Future Project Symposium: Innovative teaching practices, Oxford, England, August 14-18 2023, edited by Janina Morska & Alan Rogerson , WTM-Verlag, 2023, pp174 - 180, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  DOI
Roisin Faherty, Karen Nolan, Keith Quille, Brett Becker, and Elizabeth Oldham, A brief history of K-12 Computer Science education in Ireland, International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools, 6, (1), 2023, p3 - 34, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Elizabeth Oldham & Aibhín Bray, Undergraduate mathematics students' reflections on school mathematics curricula after a major curriculum change in Ireland, Building on the Past to Prepare for the Future, 16th International Conference of The Mathematics Education for the Future Project, Cambridge, England, 8-13 August 2022, edited by Janina Morska & Alan Rogerson , WTM Verlag für wissenschaftliche Texte und Medien, Münster, 2022, pp378 - 383, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  DOI
Elizabeth Oldham, Computing in the Irish school curriculum: What can we learn from a fifty-year adventure?, ITiCSE 22: Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, Dublin, Ireland, 8-13 July 2022, Association for Computing Machinery, 2022, pp1 - 1, Notes: [Keynote], Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  DOI
Aibhín Bray & Elizabeth Oldham, An exploration of the use of structured reflection tasks to surface prospective teachers' awareness of TPACK, Twelfth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME12), Bolzano, Italy [online], 2-5 February 2022, edited by Hodgen, J., Geraniou, E., Bolondi,G. & Ferretti, F. , Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and ERME, 2022, pp2514 - 2516, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Cornelia Connolly, Jake Byrne and Elizabeth Oldham, The trajectory of Computer Science education policy in Ireland: A document analysis narrative, European Journal of Education, 57, (3), 2022, p512 - 529, Notes: [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejed.12507], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Reforming Junior Cycle: Lessons from Project Maths in, editor(s)Damian Murchan and Keith Johnston , Curriculum Change within Policy and Practice: Reforming Second-Level Education in Ireland, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp125 - 142, [Chris Byrne, Mark Prendergast and Elizabeth Oldham], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Developing Confident Computational Thinking through Teacher Twinning Online in, editor(s)Information Resources Management Association , Research Anthology on Computational Thinking, Programming, and Robotics in the Classroom, Hershey, Pennsylvania, IGI Global, 2021, pp427 - 441, [Elizabeth Oldham, Pamela Cowan, Richard Millwood, Glenn Strong, Nina Bresnihan, Mags Amond, and Lisa Hegarty], Notes: [This chapter was published previously as a journal article and then was selected to be part of the research anthology.], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
  

Page 1 of 13
Elizabeth Oldham, "Classroom experience" in a Mathematics Education module: Learning from the students' accounts of their different experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, AUCEi Annual Meeting, Florida, USA [online], 30th July 2021, 2021, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Elizabeth Oldham, Changes in curriculum and assessment for school mathematics: Ireland in international context, Mathematics Education Research Group seminar, University College Dublin [online], 9th April 2021, 2021, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Elizabeth Oldham, Changes in curriculum and assessment for school mathematics: Ireland in international context, Mathematics and Statistics Colloquium , Maynooth University, 4th November 2020, 2020, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Maynooth University, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Richard Millwood and Elizabeth Oldham, Shaping tomorrow today ... starting with yesterday, Computers in Education Society of Ireland Annual Conference 2018 (CESIcon 2018), Dublin City University, Dublin, 10th March 2018, 2018, Computers in Education Society of Ireland, Notes: [Keynote address], Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Richard Millwood and Elizabeth Oldham, Computer Science in Schools in England and Ireland - context and current developments in 2017, 22º Seminário de Educação, Tecnologia e Sociedade (22nd Conference on Education, Technology and Society), Facultades Integradas de Taquara, Taquara, Brazil, 10-16 October 2017, 2017, Notes: [Invited keynote paper for online conference - video available at https://youtu.be/U8jjupSeMzk], Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Elizabeth Oldham, Setting the scene, Symposium on the proposed new Leaving Certificate course on Computer Science, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, 16 September 2017, 2017, Notes: [Invited presentation at the symposium run by the Computers in Education Society of Ireland.], Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Patsy Stafford, Elizabeth Oldham and Valerie O'Dowd, Ratio and proportional thinking: a study in an Irish context, British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics Day Conference, Dublin, 27-28 February 2015, edited by C. Smith , 35, (1), BSRLM, 2015, pp78 - 83, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Elizabeth Oldham, Fr. Ingram Memorial Lecture, 2014: Celebrating the past, embracing the present and preparing for future change, Irish Mathematics Teachers Association Newsletter, 114, 2014, p6 - 9, Notes: [Invited lecture on the occasion of the Annual Conference and Golden Jubilee Dinner of the Irish Mathematics Teachers Association], Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Elizabeth Oldham, Mathematics education: Taking stock, examining practice, developing policy?, Why Maths Matters - responding to the challenges of mathematics education in Ireland: Taking stock, examining practice, developing policy, University of Limerick, 8 March 2013, edited by Gráinne O'Donovan , Higher Education Authority, 2013, pp50 - 62, Notes: [Keynote address], Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Elizabeth Oldham, Mathematics education reform in Ireland: directions and dilemmas, Trends in Mathematics Education, University College Cork, 26 November 2012, 2012, Notes: [Invited paper; extended abstract available in the Book of Abstracts, edited by Paul Conway, Vanessa Rutherford and Michael Delargey, pp42 - 44], Conference Paper, PUBLISHED

  

Page 1 of 4

Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

Mathematics education, in particular mathematics curriculum, teaching and learning; philosophies of mathematics education and their implications for teaching and learning; mathematical identity; teaching and learning (especially teaching and learning mathematics) with ICTs; computer programming and computational thinking in school curricula