BSc (Hons), PGCE, PhD
Lecturer
- About
-
- Email Address
- h.martin@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 274769
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Education
Biography
Helen Martin is a Lecturer in Mathematics Education where she specialises in developing pedagogical design capacity and supporting professionally informed ethical decision-making. Her research and teaching are based on the design principles ‘valuing diversity, developing flexibility and making connections’ with an emphasis on how others make sense of doing mathematics, becoming and being mathematicians within a community. Helen has led collaborative projects across universities around E-Formative Assessment, online study sessions for primary pre-service teachers and Multiplicative and Algebraic Reasoning across Scottish schools as well as continuing to work at a National level with the Scottish Government, Scottish Mathematical Council, Edinburgh Mathematical Society and the Joint Mathematical Council of the UK.
An important part of encouraging more young people to recognise themselves as mathematicians involves supporting enrichment opportunities for children and young people including the Royal Institution Maths Masterclasses from way back as a tutor with Prof. Edward Patterson, Stem in the Pipeline, UKMT Team Maths challenges, Scottish Maths Challenge (now in its 50th year) and the Primary Enterprising Maths Challenge (nearing it's 25th anniversary) started here in Aberdeen with events now running across Scotland.
She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the international open access Education in the North journal (now in its 60th year) which supports researchers at every stage of their careers across the Arctic and beyond where she works closely with UArctic Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity in Education thematic network and The Centre for the North. The design principles 'valuing diversity, developing flexibility and making connections' are now used alongside the extensive editorial expertise to support early career researchers as programme director of the MEd Professional Education, EdD course coordinator and REF impact lead.
Qualifications
- PhD Mathematics Education2014 - University of Aberdeen
- PGCE Secondary Mathematics1990 - University of Edinburgh
- BSc (Hons) Mathematics1989 - University of St Andrews
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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University Court elected member Nov 2020 - present
Finance and Resource Committee (FRC) Sept 2023 - present
Govenance and Nominations Committee (GNN) Feb 2021 - Sept 2023
Leadership & Governance workstream (ACS) Feb 2026 - present
Senate elected member Oct 2017 - Sept 2020
Senate Business Committee (SBC) member Sept 2018 - Sept 2020
Senate Effectiveness Review group elected member 2019/20, 2020/21
UOA Ref Impact Leads School REF Impact Lead Sept 2024 - present
School Research Committee Sept 2021- present
School EDI Committee Chair (Feb 2023 - Oct 2025); member 2023 - present
Education in the North Chair and Editor-in-chief May 2020 - Present; Book Review Editor 2015-2020
The Centre for the North board member
- External Memberships
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Edinburgh Mathematical Society, Joint Chair of the Education Committee and member of Council, Sept 25 - present
Joint Mathematical Council of the UK, member Apr 2026 - present
British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM) member of Higher Education Mathematics Group
PRIMES: Pedagogy and Practice in Mathematics Education Scotland Member
Scottish Mathematical Challenge (MC) Committee
Scottish Mathematical Council (SMC) Member Sept 2015- 2018 and trustee Nov 2016 - Sept 2018
Education Scotland member of Curriculum Improvement Cycle Mathematics Collaboration Group and National Numeracy Network
UArctic Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity in Education Arctic Futures
New Northern Pedagogies Group Sept 23 - present
Prizes and Awards
Senior Fellow, Advance HE (formerly HEA) 2021
First Scottish Academic journal to gain the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) seal 2021
- Research
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Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Education.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Current Research
Assessment in Higher Education Mathematics
Learning and Teaching Mathematics in Higher Education
How choice might be actualised within classrooms
Collaborations
UK Prosperity Funded ‘Multiply’ project with Aberdeen City Council
UK Prosperity Funded ‘Multiply’ project with Aberdeenshire Council
Dyscalculia Working Group with Aberdeen City Council
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Education.
Current supervisions
PhD: Transitions from Secondary to Post-Secondary Mathematics in Malta
EdD: Ethical Leadership
Previous supervisions
PhD: Teaching mathematics with Saudi Arabian English Language Learners
PhD: Vulnerable young people in Scotland: tacking food and health inequalities
Funding and Grants
New Northern Pedagogies Group (NNPG): Co-PI funded by Scottish Government Arctic Connections (£7795) with co-investigators from Universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Highlands & Islands, and Lapland.
Improving Children’s Mathematical Reasoning (ICMR): Principal Investigator funded by The Carnegie Trust Larger Collaborative Grant (£40000) with co-investigators from Universities of Glasgow and King’s College London alongside Education Scotland and Scottish Government.
Online Mathematics Assessment for Primary Teachers (MAPT): Principal Investigator funded by Education Scotland (£12000) with co-investigators from Universities of Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow alongside Education Scotland and HMIE.
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Postgraduate, 1 , October start
Course Coordinator
- Postgraduate, 1 , January start
Programme Director
- Postgraduate, 1 year, August start
- Subject selector (Mathematics)
- Curricular tutor (Mathematics)
- School experience visiting tutor
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
Courses
- Master Project/Dissertation (ED506A)
- Master Project/Dissertation (ED556A)
Teaching Responsibilities
Current Teaching
Programme Director
Masters in Professional Education
Course Coordinator
ED6002 EdD Identifying and Articulating Issues in Professional Practice
ED506A(2025-26): Master Project/Dissertation
ED556A(2025-26): Master Project/Dissertation
PGDE(S) Mathematics Education
ED1008 Radical Reconstructions of Mathematics
- Publications
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Page 15 of 17 Results 351 to 375 of 418
Counting Scotland In! Making 'Gender and education' more inclusive and attractive as a research field
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDeveloping Inclusive Practice: A role for teachers and teacher education?
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1-20Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEducational potential, underachievement, and cultural pluralism
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEducation’s Abiding Moral Dilemma: Merit and worth in the cross-Atlantic democracies, 1800-2006. Sheldon Rothblatt, Symposium Books (2006). Pp. xxx + 350. Pbk. £24.00
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesFrom RE to RMPS: The case for the Philosophication of Religious Education in Scotland
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIntroducing young mathematicians to Industry
Contributions to Journals: FeaturesProfessional School Leadership: Dealing with dilemmas
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesPromoting young people's health through drama and dance
Contributions to Journals: FeaturesScottish Education (3rd edition): Beyond devolution. Edited by T.G.K.Bryce and W.M.Humes Edinburgh University Press (2008). 1024 pp. ISBN: 9780748625932 (pb) £27-99
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesThe Aberdeen Reading Bus: A journey to excellence
Contributions to Journals: FeaturesThe SAGE Handbook of E-learning Research: R. Andrews & C. Hawthornthwaite (Eds.) London: Sage. (2007). pp. xix + 539. £90. ISBN 978-1-4129-1938-8
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesTo teach or to research – is that the question? A case study from the Schools of Ambition
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnderstanding ourselves – Understanding others
Contributions to Journals: Features'Why not just live for the moment?’ Poverty, schooling and the future lives of excluded girls and boys
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTransforming research culture?A critical analysis of social capital building through/in a research network
Education in the North, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 33-43Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAm Program Streap: Program airson Barrachd Thidsearan a Tharraing gu Foghlam tro Mheadhan na Gaidhlig
Contributions to Journals: FeaturesAre We Listening? Making sense of classroom behaviour with pupils and parents Jackie Ravet Trentham Books (2007). Pp. 164
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 78Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesCommunity Education, Lifelong Learning and Social Inclusion (2nd Edition) Lyn Tett Dunedin Academic Press (2006). Pp.vi+90. Pbk. £13.50
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 76Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesConvergence or Divergence? Initial teacher education in Scotland and England Ian Menter, Estelle Brisard and Iain Smith Dunedin Academic Press (2006). Pp.xii+92. Pbk. £13.50
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 77Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesEditorial
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 3Contributions to Journals: EditorialsEducating frontline staff in mental health: Evaluating a resource
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 62-64Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEnterprising science and technology
Contributions to Journals: FeaturesFamily Support: Raising educational achievement and tackling social exclusion
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 23-31Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMentoring in the North: New provision, new perspectives?
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 12-22Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPractical implications of research into the client's experience of counselling
Education in the North, vol. 15, pp. 6-11Contributions to Journals: Articles
