Innocent Tasara

Profile

I am Innocent Tasara, FHEA - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, BSc (Hon) Mathematics (Leeds), Dip Education Mathematics (Zimbabwe), PGCE (with QTS) Mathematics (Leeds), MA Mathematics Education (Leeds), PhD Mathematics Education (Leeds). I am a Lecturer in Mathematics Education

I joined the University of Leeds in April 2012, coming from a career in teaching. Since 2008, I worked as a teacher of mathematics in secondary (11-18) schools in Leeds and Halifax, England. However, my teaching career dates back to 1997 when I undertook my first teaching qualification and taught mathematics in Zimbabwe. From  April 2012 when I joined the School of Education, my teaching activities have been primarily within Initial Teacher Education (ITE), leading the PGCE Secondary Mathematics and the Teaching Advanced Mathematics (TAM) programmes. Since 2017, I have led the MA Education programme, taught within UG, PGT and SCITT programmes, but also contributing to postgraduate supervision.

Responsibilities

• Lecturer in Mathematics Education

Research interests

My research interests are firmly rooted in mathematics education. Areas of interests include teaching and learning of school mathematics, post-16 mathematics education and calculus. I have a keen interest in commognition theory, but also social constructivists and problem-solving perspectives and approaches to teaching and learning mathematics; in mathematical knowledge for teaching, teacher education and professional development.

Recent projects

1. How do teachers of mathematics introduce differential calculus? A doctotal thesis investigating the teaching of differential calculus to post 16 students by teachers of mathematics, in England aimed at contributing to the knowledge base for improving the teaching and learning of calculus in secondary schools, and the teaching and learning of mathematics teaching (teacher training).
2. The early take-up of Core Mathematics: successes and challenges; Working collaboratively within a team of four researchers on this Nuffield Foundation-funded research project (£250K plus); this was a three-year project, which started in 2017. http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/early-take-core-mathematics

Conference Presentations

Tasara, I. Making sense of the teaching of calculus from a commognitive perspective. The 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME 42), Umeå, Sweden,  July 3 – 8, 2018.

Tasara, I. Commognitive analysis of a teacher’s mathematical discourse on the derivative. The British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), Liverpool Hope University, England, November   11th 2017.

Homer, M., Mathieson, R., Banner, I. & Tasara, I.  The early take-up of Core Maths: emerging findings. The British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), University of Oxford, June 9 – 10, 2017.

Tasara, I. Activity theory as an analytic lens for viewing the teacher's professional activity: a case study on the teaching of calculus. The British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), Loughborough University, 10 – 11 June 2016.

Tasara, I. Commognitive approach in the analysis of a teacher’s mathematical discourse on the derivative. The British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), University of Oxford, June 9 – 10, 2017.

Conferences Attended

BSRLM Conferences: 08/06/13 - Sheffield Hallam University; 16/11/13-Edinburgh University; 06/06/15 - Durham University; 10-11/06/16 - Loughborough University; 9-10/06/17- Oxford University; 11/11/17 - Liverpool Hope University; http://www.bsrlm.org.uk/previous-conferences/

AMET (Association of Mathematics Education Teachers) – Manchester University, 15 October 2016; Birmingham, 2013;  http://www.ametonline.org.uk/

PME 37 (July 28-August 2, 2013 - Kiel, Germany); http://www.igpme.org/index.php/publications/print-on-demand

PME 42 (3 – 8 July 2018, Umea, Sweden);  http://www.pme42.se/

ACME Conference - Mathematically Thinking (9 July 2015, The Royal Society, London) http://www.acme-uk.org/events/2015-acme-conference

Royal Society ACME Conference - Working together: Mathematics education in a changing landscape (17th July 2018, The Royal Society, London); https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2018/07/acme-conference-2018/

BCME 8 (British Congress of Mathematics Education) University of Nottingham, 14-17 April 2014; https://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/events/bcme8-building-bridges---making-connections 

Research Students' Conference 2013, 9th May 2013 at University House, University of Leeds. http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/research/research-students-education-conference/2013

Qualifications

• PhD; 2022, University of Leeds
• FHEA-Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2015, University of Leeds
• MA in Mathematics Education, 2011, University of Leeds
• PGCE Mathematics, 2008, University of Leeds; Dip in Education-Mathematics, University of Zimbabwe
• BSc (Hon) Mathematics, 2007, University of Leeds

Professional memberships

• International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME)
• British Society of Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM)
• Mathematical Association (MA)
• Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI)
• The Association of Mathematics Education Teachers (AMET)
• National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM)

Student education

ITE - Teacher Education

Since 2012, my teaching activities have been primarily on teacher education, as the leader for the PGCE Secondary mathematics course (for initial teacher education) and the Teaching Advanced Mathematics (TAM) programme (for training to teach Advanced (post-16) level mathematics. The latter programme was provided in conjunction with the Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI: http://mei.org.uk/).

UG - Undergraduate

Since 2016, my teaching activities at the undergraduate level have increased quite significantly with the introduction of the BA Education programme in 2017.

PGT - Postgraduate Taught Programmes

Since 2017 I led the MA Education programme. My teaching activities within the PGT provision also include personal tutoring and dissertation supervision. Previously, I also taught on the MA in Mathematics Education programme.

PGR - Postgraduate Research

I contribute to and support in the supervision of mathematics education studies.

Current postgraduate researchers

• Tevfik Karabiyik
• Lateifa Mandani