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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai led a national Maths Through Stories implementation consultation workshop in the Maldives with UNESCO and OECD colleagues, engaging over 50 Maldivian stakeholders, including two Deputy Ministers of Education

20/6/2025

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading and founder of MathsThroughStories.org), led a national implementation consultation workshop on his research-based Maths Through Stories approach in the Maldives on 17 June 2025.

Kindly hosted by
Maldives National University (MNU) and funded by Research England’s Policy Support Fund, the workshop brought together over 50 key educational stakeholders from across the Maldives, including primary and secondary school teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and policy makers - among them two Deputy Ministers of Education (Dr. Fathimath Nishan and Aminath Nazima) as well as a representative of UNICEF Maldives. 


The workshop focused on how the ‘Maths Through Stories’ approach – Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research-based, low-cost pedagogy – can be implemented in schools across the Maldives to make mathematics teaching more effective, contextual, engaging, and accessible for all learners. Participants engaged in interactive activities, collaborative discussions, and action planning designed to outline ways of implementing the approach by the different stakeholder types, as well as exploring some of the key enablers for and barriers to the national implementation.

Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's workshop co-facilitators - Dr. Úna McCarthy-Fakhry (UNESCO Headquarters, Paris) and Dr. Cassie Hague (OECD Headquarters, Paris) - contributed international perspectives and highlighted how the Maths Through Stories approach aligns with their own work on promoting inclusive STEM pedagogies and promoting creative thinking in education respectively. Dr. Trakulphadetkrai had previously introduced both Dr. McCarthy-Fakhry and Dr. Hague to his Maths Through Stories approach while he was based at UNESCO and the OECD as part of his UKRI Policy / What Works Fellowship.

Participating stakeholders also had the opportunity to hear directly from Aminath Nishana, a classroom teacher at Sharafuddin School - the largest school outside the capital city - who shared her school’s experiences in participating in Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition, the world’s first international mathematical story writing competition. Her insights illustrated the positive impact that creative, story-based approaches can have on student engagement and mathematical understanding. Examples of mathematical story picture books created by students from Sharafuddin School for the YMSA competition were also shared during the workshop, offering stakeholders a tangible insight into the creativity and depth of understanding fostered by this approach. Examples include: 'How to Win an Argument Using a Scatter Diagram' by Jeem Naseer (13 years old), 'The Fractions of Ramadan' by Alim Zaneef (10 years old), and 'The Multiplication Toddy Men' by Fathimath Sasha (8 years old).

The Collaborative Action Plan developed during the event in collaboration with all stakeholders was shared with the Ministry of Education to demonstrate a list of actionable steps that can be taken to implement the Maths Through Stories approach nationally, including the integration of the approach as part of the country's pre-service and in-service teacher education curriculum (through collaboration with the NIE and teacher training institutions, such as Maldives National University and Villa College) as well as the establishment of a pilot national network of Maths Through Stories Schools, among other key recommendations.
​In her opening remark (the full transcript is accessible here),
​Dr. Fathimath Nishan (Maldives' Deputy Minister of Education) commented that:


"What excites us about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s Maths Through Stories approach is its strong grounding in research and its potential to bring about impactful transformation in mathematics learning – making it both practical and meaningful. [...] As we consider next steps, I would welcome opportunities to evaluate the impact of the Maths Through Stories initiative in our schools, to gather feedback from teachers and students, and to document the lessons we learn together. This will help us refine the approach and finetune it to make the Maths Through Stories initiative as suitable as possible for the unique context of Maldivian schools, teacher training institutions, and our education system as a whole."


In his opening remark (the full transcript is accessible here),
​His Excellency Nick Low (British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives) noted that:


"The University of Reading is widely respected for its research and its commitment to turning evidence into action. Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s ‘Maths Through Stories’ initiative is a great example – transforming research into a creative, low-cost classroom approach that helps students develop mathematical understanding, communication skills, and imagination. [...] As British High Commissioner, I want to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to supporting educational improvement through research, innovation, and international partnership. I hope today’s workshop helps build momentum for further collaboration, including with organisations like UNESCO and the OECD. Together, we can find practical, effective solutions that benefit learners in the Maldives and beyond."


Professor Robert Van de Noort (Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading) highlighted that:
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"We are immensely proud of Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's important work bringing innovative mathematics education to the Maldives through his Maths Through Stories approach. This workshop, with its high-level engagement of Maldivian educational leaders, exemplifies the University's commitment to research that creates real-world impact, and I look forward to seeing how the project develops."
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​Following the workshop, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his UNESCO and OECD colleagues had the opportunity to present emerging recommendations from the event to Dr. Ahmed Mohamed (Minister of State for Education), at the Maldives’ Ministry of Education. They also visited several key stakeholders, including the leadership teams of Jamaluddin School (a local primary and secondary school), Villa College's Faculty of Educational Studies (one of the Maldives' largest pre-service teacher training institutions), and the Ministry's National Institute of Education (the country’s curriculum development and in-service teacher training agency). These meetings provided valuable opportunities to discuss next steps, strengthen partnerships, and ensure broad-based support for scaling the Maths Through Stories approach across the Maldives.

The idea for this workshop first emerged from a chance encounter between Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and Dr. Maryam Mariya (then Minister of Higher Education for the Maldives) at an international education summit co-organised by UNESCO, the OECD and the GIoCT in Paris in late 2024. Their initial conversation sparked the collaborative vision that led to this event.


Videos of the workshop and stakeholders’ reactions to the workshop, along with photos from the event and related visits, can be found below.
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai
​(Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading)
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His Excellency Nick Low
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(The British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives)
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Aminath Nazima
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(Maldives' Deputy Minister of Education)



​Dr. Fathimath Nishan
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(Maldives' Deputy Minister of Education)
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Dr. Úna McCarthy-Fakhry
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(UNESCO Headquarters representative)
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Dr. Cassie Hague 
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(OECD Headquarters representative)
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Sushil Upreti
(UNICEF Maldives representative)
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Aishath Shiunee 
(Senior Curriculum Development Analyst, Maldives' National Institute of Education) 
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Nadhiya Ahmed
(Dean of Maldives National University's Faculty of Education)
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Abdul Sattar Gasim
(Dean of Villa College's Faculty of Educational Studies)
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Azmath Ahmed Didi
(Primary Leading Teacher, Jamaluddin School, Maldives)
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Aminath Asifa
(Secondary Leading Teacher, Aminiya School, Maldives)



​Photos of the Workshop

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The workshop brought together over 50 key educational stakeholders from across the Maldives, including primary and secondary school teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and policy makers - among them two Deputy Ministers of Education (Dr. Fathimath Nishan and Aminath Nazima) as well as a representative of UNICEF Maldives.
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading and founder of MathsThroughStories.org) with ​His Excellency Nick Low ​(The British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives) and Dr. Aishath Shehenaz Adam (Vice Chancellor of Maldives National University who kindly hosted the workshop).
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his workshop co-facilitators from the UNESCO and OECD headquarters (Paris) with the leadership team of Maldives National University's Faculty of Education. 
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his workshop co-facilitators from the UNESCO and OECD headquarters (Paris) with the leadership team of Villa College's Faculty of Educational Studies.
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His Excellency Nick Low ​(The British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives) giving an opening remark.
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai welcoming distinguished guests and various stakeholders to the workshop, and introduced them to his concept of students creating their own short mathematical story picture books as an innovative low-cost pedagogical approach. 
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​Dr. Úna McCarthy-Fakhry (UNESCO Headquarters, Paris) contributed international perspectives and highlighted how the Maths Through Stories approach aligns with her own work on promoting inclusive STEM pedagogies.
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Dr. Cassie Hague (OECD Headquarters, Paris) contributed international perspectives and highlighted how the Maths Through Stories approach aligns with her own work on promoting creative thinking in education.
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Aminath Nishana, a teacher from Sharafuddin School (the largest school outside Maldives' capital city), sharing her school’s experiences in participating in Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition, the world’s first international mathematical story writing competition.
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai supporting various stakeholders in creating their own short mathematical story picture books. 
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Using Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's mathematical storytelling template, stakeholders working together to create short mathematical story picture books as part of the workshop activities.
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Stakeholders presenting their collaboratively created mathematical story picture books to their peers.
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Dr. McCarthy-Fakhry and Dr. Hague co-facilitating a policy discussion with various stakeholders on how the Maths Through Stories approach could be implemented nationally. 
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Classroom teachers, teacher educators, curriculum develops and policy makers discussing some of the key enablers for and barriers to the national implementation of Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's Maths Through Stories approach. 
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​​Photos of the Post-workshop Visits

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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his UNESCO and OECD colleagues presenting emerging recommendations from the workshop on how the Maths Through Stories approach could be implemented nationally to Dr. Ahmed Mohamed (Minister of State for Education) at the Maldives’ Ministry of Education.
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his UNESCO and OECD colleagues visiting various stakeholders following the Maths Through Stories workshop, including here the leadership team of the Maldivian Ministry of Education's National Institute of Education (NIE) which is in charge of curriculum development, school inspection and in-service teacher training.

​On this photo are: 
Dr. Fathimath Nishan (Deputy Minister of Education), Soodha (NIE's Acting Director General), Shiyama Aboobakur (Head of Foundation Stage), as well as Aishath Shiunee and Khadeeja Afsharee (Senior Curriculum Development Analysts).
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his UNESCO and OECD colleagues visiting various stakeholders following the Maths Through Stories workshop, including here the leadership team of Villa College's Faculty of Educational Studies - one of the major pre-service teacher training institutions in the Maldives. 

On this photo are: 
Abdul Sattar Gasim (Dean of Villa College's Faculty of Educational Studies [FES]), 
Fathimath Saeed (FES Associate Dean), Mariyam Nihaadh (Senior Lecturer, FES), Fathimath Samaahath (Lecturer, FES) and Fathimath Shifaza (Director, Policy and International Relations).
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai and his UNESCO and OECD colleagues visiting various stakeholders following the Maths Through Stories workshop, including here the leadership team of Jamaluddin School, a local primary and secondary school. They also were given opportunities to observe a primary Maths lesson and a secondary Maths lesson being taught. 

On this photo are: Aishath Sheetha (Principal) and Aminath Latheef (Leading Teacher Maths Secondary) among other members of the school's leadership team.
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai invited by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s regional mathematics centre to deliver a keynote talk on mathematical storytelling to around 300 teachers across the region

6/5/2025

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading and founder of MathsThroughStories.org), served as an invited keynote speaker at an international webinar organised by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Mathematics. The event, held to commemorate Indonesia’s National Education Day, brought together approximately 300 primary and secondary mathematics teachers from across Southeast Asia.
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Centred on the theme ‘Transforming Numeracy in Education: Innovative Approaches to Empower Future Generations’, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s keynote introduced mathematical storytelling as a creative pedagogical approach to teach and learn mathematics. Drawing on his research, he highlighted the importance of empowering students to take an active role in their learning by creating short mathematical story picture books – an approach which values contextualisation and visualisation to deepen mathematical understanding. Teachers from across the region were also introduced to Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition and encouraged to participate in next year’s event, for which the Centre currently serves as an Outreach Partner. 
Since its launch in 2019, the competition has received entries from more than 5,000 students across nearly 30 countries around the world.
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​Uki Rahmawati (Head of the Centre’s Programme Division) commented: “From the 166 teachers who completed the evaluation form [of the 300 teachers attended the event], the vast majority said they were eager to learn more about Math Through Stories. Given this strong interest, I’ll be discussing potential collaboration opportunities with our Board of Directors.”

Dr. Trakulphadetkrai will explore the possibility of embedding his Maths Through Stories training as part of the Centre’s annual continuing professional development (CPD) programme for teachers in the region to maximise the potential impact of his research.
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The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is a regional intergovernmental body dedicated to advancing cooperation in education, science, and culture among Southeast Asian nations. SEAMEO works closely with its member countries to enhance educational quality and promote shared solutions to regional challenges. Spanning a vast and diverse region – including Indonesia, which has the world’s fourth-largest education system –SEAMEO’s work reaches millions of students and educators.

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, in collaboration with Cambridge and University College London/Dublin colleagues, secures a large grant from the Leverhulme Trust to expand his Maths Through Stories body of research

29/11/2024

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) secures another large grant - this time from the Leverhulme Trust - to continue expanding his Maths Through Stories body of research.
 
Specifically, his proposed 30-month study (July 2025 - December 2027) - titled 'Transforming Secondary Mathematics Learning through Storytelling' - will measure the effectiveness of an innovative low-cost mathematics teaching strategy whereby secondary school students in England create short mathematical story picture books within their regular Maths lessons. Its impact will be assessed on its ability to reduce the level of students’ mathematics anxiety, and fostering their self-efficacy in and attitudes towards mathematics learning as well as improving their mathematics attainment. In doing so, the project will bring new understanding of the role of storytelling in fostering mathematical understanding and positivity within an adolescent population whose mathematical development is currently under-explored.
 
The study aims to collect data from around 1,000 students across the Southeast of England, with Dr. Trakulphadetkrai having already secured official support from five local authorities (Surrey, Reading, Slough, Wokingham and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead). 

Examples of short mathematical story picture books created by secondary school students (sent to Dr. Trakulphadetkrai as part of their submission for his Young Mathematical Story Authors competition) can be found here: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, Example 5 and Example 6. 
​

This proposed project will build on Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s University of Reading Research Fellowship project (2019-2021) where he designed a similar project but with a focus on collecting data from around 1,000+ upper primary school children. 

As the study’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai will be supported by two co-investigators, namely Dr. Ros McLellan (University Associate Professor of Pedagogical Innovation, University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education) and Dr. Flávia H. Santos (Lecturer in Cognitive Developmental Psychology, University College London's Institute of Education, University of London & University College Dublin). 

Commenting on his latest large grant success, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai said: 


"I am grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for granting our research team this exceptional opportunity to build upon my previous work with primary school children. The grant will now allow us to investigate the extent to which my low-cost, innovative pedagogical approach where students create their own short mathematical story picture books can be effectively adapted for secondary school students. Our goal is not only to explore strategies for improving the effectiveness of mathematics learning but also to make it a more enjoyable and accessible experience, particularly for older students with diverse levels of confidence in the subject."

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Team Members
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Dr. Ros McLellan
(Associate Professor of Pedagogical Innovation, University of Cambridge)

Co-Investigator
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai​
(Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading)

Principal Investigator
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Dr. Flávia H. Santos
​(Lecturer in Cognitive Developmental Psychology, University College London's Institute of Education, University of London & University College Dublin)

Co-Investigator
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Steering Committee
(in no particular order)
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Professor Jeremy Hodgen
(Professor of Mathematics Education, University College London's Institute of Education, University of London)
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Professor Jenni Ingram
(Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Oxford)
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Professor Andreas Stylianides
(Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Cambridge)
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Dr. Ann Dowker
(University Research Lecturer in Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford) 
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Dr. Sue Johnston-Wilder
(Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, ​University of Warwick)
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai leads a large Royal Society/British Academy grant application in collaboration with Oxford and Cambridge professors for an interdisciplinary study exploring children’s brain activity when reading maths stories

27/11/2024

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) leads a large grant application for a proposed 2-year study, titled 'Impact of Story Picture Books on Primary School Students’ Cognitive Load and Anxiety in Mathematics Learning: A Brain Activity Study'. 

In collaboration with Professor Gaia Scerif (Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford) and Professor Michelle Ellefson (Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Cambridge), Dr. Trakulphadetkrai proposes to harness the power of electroencephalography (EEG) - a child-friendly brain activity capturing technique - to record, in real time, brain activity of 9-10 years old children when they are learning an unfamiliar mathematical concept by reading mathematical picture books versus traditional maths textbooks. This study is important given impact evaluations of (mathematics) teaching methods often rely on students' test scores, which provide limited insight into students’ cognitive processes.
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Electroencephalography (EEG) equipment

Source: ​https://pressrelease.brainproducts.com/r-net-child/

​This application is in respose to the APEX (Academies Partnership in supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary research) funding call which is jointly funded by the Royal Society, the British Academy, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. The funding scheme offers "established independent researchers, with a strong track record in their respective area and proven ability to lead collaborative work, an exciting opportunity to pursue genuine interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research to benefit wider society".

Dr. Trakukphadetkrai's proposed study has already benefited from expertises of its Steering Committee which is made up of the world's leading scholars in neuroscience and mathematics education. (More details of the Steering Committee's members can be found below.) 

Given the EEG facilities at the University of Oxford would be used if the application was successful, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai 
has already secured official support from Oxfordshire County Council who would support the recruitment of students from across the 260+ primary schools in its region. 

The outcome will be announced in May 2025. 
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“Dr. Trakulphadetkrai is a well-established scholar whose work (both his research and his research impact-generating activities) has been recognised in the field of mathematics education nationally and internationally since he joined the University some 11 years ago. The proposed study by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai […] would allow academics from both the social sciences discipline (education) and the life sciences discipline (neuroscience) to learn from each other and collaborate on a project that could potentially create some novel scientific discoveries concerning how different mathematics teaching approaches may affect children’s brain activities differently.”

Dr. Sarah Marston
Head of the Institute of Education
University of Reading

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“Prof. Scerif has made nationally and internationally recognised contributions to the field of cognitive neuroscience. Her focus on the neural bases of cognitive control in neurotypical and neurodivergent learners is highly suited to the proposed topic of investigation. It complements Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s renowned expertise in mathematics education, and Professor Michelle Ellefson (Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Cambridge)’s expertise in developmental psychology.”

Professor Matthew Rushworth
Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology
University of Oxford


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“This project exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, combining latest insights from the fields of mathematics education (social sciences) and cognitive science/neuroscience (life sciences). While Dr. Trakulphadetkrai is an internationally recognised expert in mathematics education research, the two co-applicants - Professor Ellefson and Professor Gaia Scerif (Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford) - will provide complementary expertise in cognitive science and neuroscience. Together, their combined knowledge of cognition, executive functions, brain development, and their implications for mathematics learning processes will be instrumental in advancing the project’s goals.”

Professor Hilary Cremin
Head of the Faculty of Education
University of Cambridge
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​​Team Members

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Professor Gaia Scerif
(Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford) 

Co-Applicant
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai​
(Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading)

Lead Applicant
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Professor Michelle Ellefson
(Professor of Cognitive Science,
​University of Cambridge)

Co-Applicant 
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​​Steering Committee
(in no particular order)

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​Professor Jon R. Star
(Professor of Education,
​Harvard University) 


mathematics education, cognitive development
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Professor Bruce McCandliss
​(Director of the Educational Neuroscience Initiative,
​Stanford University) 
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neuroscience

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Professor Jo Boaler
​(Professor of Mathematics Education,
​Stanford University) 


mathematics education, brain and learning sciences
 

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Professor Kimberly Noble
(Professor of Neuroscience and Education, Columbia University)
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neuroscience
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Professor Casey Lew-Williams
(Professor of Psychology,
Princeton University)

neuroscience
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Professor Adam K. Anderson
(Professor of Psychology,
Cornell University)

neuroscience
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Professor Dor Abrahamson
(Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development,
University of California, Berkeley)

mathematical cognition
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Professor Sara Cordes
(Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience,
Boston College)


neuroscience, early mathematics education

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Professor Paul B. Armstrong
(Professor Emeritus of English,
Brown University)

storytelling, neuroscience 
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Professor Gabriel Stylianides
(Professor of Mathematics Education,
​University of Oxford)

mathematics education 
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Dr. Ros McLellan
(Associate Professor of Pedagogical Innovation,
​University of Cambridge)

educational psychology, mathematics anxiety
​
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai expands his Young Mathematical Story Authors competition to include a new Oxford University Press-sponsored entry category for children aged 4-7 years old globally

31/10/2024

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) expands his Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition to now include a new entry category for 4-7 years old children.
 
The YMSA competition is the world's first annual international competition set up to encourage young mathematics learners from around the world to creatively embed their mathematics learning in a meaningful and engaging context through creating their own mathematical story picture books. ​This competition is organised by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s non-profit research-based MathsThroughStories.org initiative, and it has been running every year since 2019. Since then, the competition has received entries from around 4,000 students across over 260 schools in 23 countries.

Until recently, the competition had two entries categories: 8-11 years old and 12-16 years old. With the generous support from Oxford University Press (founded in the year 1586), the competition will now be able to reach even younger mathematical storytellers (4-7 years old) globally.
 
The winner of each entry category will receive a cash prize of £100, and so will their school. Apart from Oxford University Press, the other sponsors are HarperCollins and Charlesbridge – two of the world’s major publishers.
 

Kersti Worsley, Senior Publisher at Oxford University Press and one of Stories for Maths authors, will join the YMSA team as a judge for this new age category.
 
Commenting on this new entry category, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai says: 

"This new YMSA entry category will help strengthen my message to educators around the world that mathematical storytelling - as a pedagogical approach - is applicable to all age groups, be it 4-years-old Reception children learning addition and subtraction for the first time or 16-years-old secondary school students grappling with inferential statistical concepts."
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The competition receives promotional support from national Mathematics teacher associations around the world (e.g., those of the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, among others). 

The competition opens for entries on Monday 6 January 2025, with the submission deadline being Friday 21 March 2025.
 

To learn more about the competition, click here.
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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai introduced his MathsThroughStories.org initiative to education ministers and policy makers at an international education summit hosted by the UNESCO and OECD in Paris

21/10/2024

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) introduced his MathsThroughStories.org initiative and his Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition to education ministers and policy makers from different countries at an international education summit co-hosted by the UNESCO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Institute of Creative Thinking (GIoCT) in Paris.
 
Held across two days (17th-18th October 2024), the summit delegates were initially split into groups with each group assigned to visit a nursery, a primary school or a secondary school in Paris to observe its teaching and learning. The delegates then spent the remaining of Day 1 and Day 2 at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) headquarter and the OECD headquarter respectively for some high-level discussions with representatives from the host organisations as well as other key stakeholders, such as education ministers and education policy makers from different countries.

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​At the OECD headquarter, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was able to introduce his MathsThroughStories.org initiative and its Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition to the summit delegates, particularly in relation to how this innovative way of teaching and learning mathematics can help foster creativity in education – a theme of the summit. This is fitting as one of the keynote speakers – Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Mariya (Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Republic of Maldives) – has noted in her speech that storytelling can be a powerful strategy to foster creativity across the school curriculum.
 
Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was later able to personally share past YMSA entries by students from the Maldives and Singapore with Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Mariya and Sherwin Cheng (Director of the Curriculum Policy Office, Singapore’s Ministry of Education). When Dr. Trakulphadetkrai discussed the role of mathematical storytelling with His Excellency Dr. Justin Valentin (Minister of Education, Republic of Seychelles), it was revealed that Dr. Valentin was previously a Maths teacher and a storyteller, and is thus interested to learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s work.
 
Following the summit, Her Excellency Dr. Mariya has already put Dr. Trakulphadetkrai in touch with Dr. Aishath Shehenaz Adam (The Maldives National University’s Vice Chancellor) to explore the possibility of having Dr. Trakulphadetkrai delivers his Maths Through Stories training to teachers from across the Maldives in 2025. ​
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The OECD Headquarter in Paris
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Over 100 education stakeholders including education ministers and education policy makers from around the world attending the Paris summit
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai speaking at the summit
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai introduced his MathsThroughStories.org initiative and his Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition to education ministers and policy makers from different countries
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Over 100 education stakeholders including education ministers and education policy makers from around the world attending the Paris summit

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Andreas Schleicher (Director for Education and Skills, OECD) speaking at the summit
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His Excellency Dr. Justin Valentin (Minister of Education, Republic of Seychelles) speaking at the summit
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai being interviewed at the end of the summit
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With Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Mariya (Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Republic of Maldives) 
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With His Excellency Dr. Justin Valentin (Minister of Education, Republic of Seychelles)
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With Sherwin Cheng (Director of the Curriculum Policy Office, Singapore’s Ministry of Education)
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With Professor Pamela Burnard (Professor of Arts, Creativities and Educations, University of Cambridge), a member of the summit's organising team
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A Leverhulme research grant application led by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai with support from colleagues at the Universities of Cambridge and London (UCL) gets through to the next round

25/1/2024

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​A Leverhulme research grant application led by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) with support from colleagues at the Universities of Cambridge and London (University College London's IoE) gets through to the next (and final) round where a more detailed version of the Outline Stage application will be submitted at the end of Summer 2024. 
 
The grant application is for a proposed ambitious large-scale project which will measure the effectiveness of an innovative low-cost mathematics teaching strategy whereby secondary school students create short mathematical story picture books within their regular Maths lessons. Its impact will be assessed on its ability to reduce the level of students’ mathematics anxiety, and fostering their self-efficacy in and attitudes towards mathematics learning as well as improving their mathematics attainment. In doing so, the project will bring new understanding of the role of storytelling in fostering mathematical understanding and positivity within an adolescent population whose mathematical development is currently under-explored. Such understanding is especially important given the recent UK government focus on making mathematics compulsory post-16.
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His co-applicants on this grant application are Dr. Ros McLellan (University Associate Professor in Teacher Education & Development / Pedagogical Innovation, University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education) and Dr. Flávia H. Santos (Lecturer, University of London, University College London's Institute of Education). 
 
This proposed project will build on Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s University of Reading Research Fellowship project (2019-2021) where he designed a similar project but with a focus on upper primary school children. 

​To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, visit his profile page here and his MathsThroughStories.org project’s website here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT and @MathsStories.


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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) wins funding from the 2022 British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grant scheme

27/9/2022

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) is one of the recipients this year to have won the British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grant.

​His project aims to explore the extent to which children (aged 9-10 years old) working in pairs to co-create a short story picture book about fractions helps them engage in using mathematical talk. This study is important as mathematical talk can foster children’s mathematical thinking. 60 pairs of Year 5 children of different ability levels in the Southeast of England will be randomly allocated to either an intervention or comparison cohort. Over the course of one 60-minute session, the intervention cohort children will work in pairs to co-create one short story picture book about fractions, while the comparison cohort children will work in pairs to solve fraction problems on worksheets. Children's conversations about fractions will be audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using statistical analyses to explore whether there is any statistically significant difference in the quantity and quality of talk about fractions across the two cohorts, when controlling for children’s age.
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​The grant applications are assessed on: the quality and interest of the research proposal; the ability of the applicant to make a success of it based on their past track record; the feasibility of the methodology; the feasibility of the timescale; and the appropriateness of costs requested.

Dr. Trakulphadetkrai commented “I am pleased to be a recipient of this year’s highly competitive British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grant. This funded project is essentially a spin-off of my University Research Fellowship project (2019-2020, which was then extended to 2021 due to COVID). I hope this growing trackrecord in funding will help me attract further research grants in the future.”

The project will begin in October 2022 and end in September 2023.


To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT.

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Academics from Norway’s largest university visited Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) to learn about his Maths Through Stories research to help them develop their teacher trainin

20/9/2022

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​In September, Jørn Ove Asklund, Astrid Kufaas Morken and Silje Neraas - academics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway’s largest public research university) - visited Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading) to learn about his Maths Through Stories research to help them develop their in-service teacher training course with a focus on mathematics and literacy.
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At the meeting, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai shared the research findings from his University of Reading Research Fellowship project, and talked about his new British Academy / Leverhulme-funded research project. He then explained the format of his popular Maths Through Stories training course which he has delivered to over 3,500 pre- and in-service teachers in the UK and internationally, including an annual invitation (since 2020) from the University of Cambridge to help train their teacher trainees.

​The Norwegian colleagues were recommended to meet with Dr. Trakulphadetkrai by Professor Jeremy Hodgen (Professor of Mathematics Education at the UCL Institute of Education and Chair of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics).
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​To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT.
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Latest research article by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai (MathsThroughStories.org founder) on Taiwanese primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching is published

29/11/2021

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A co-authored research article by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading), which set out to examine Taiwanese primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning, has just been published in Springer’s Educational Studies in Mathematics journal – a leading peer-reviewed journal in the research field of mathematics education.
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This paper is the fourth output of an international survey study which Dr. Trakulphadetkrai leads and collaborates with academics in different countries to investigate the extent to which teachers integrate children’s literature in their mathematics teaching as well as their perceived barriers to and enablers for such integration. The first paper, second paper and third paper focus on Irish, Maltese and Australian teachers respectively. An upcoming paper will focus on teachers in England.
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​The article is available free of charge here, thanks to the University of Reading’s Open Access funding.

His co-authors are Prof. Der Ching Yang (National Chiayi University, Taiwan), Iwan Andi Jonri Sianturi (Indiana University-Bloomington, USA), Dr. Chia Huang Chen (National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan) and Yi-Wen Su (University of Taipei, Taiwan).

​To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT.

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The MathsThroughStories.org website, developed by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading), has now been visited over a million times by over a quarter of a million teachers and parents

29/10/2021

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​The MathsThroughStories.org website, developed by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading), has reached a new milestone. Launched in 2017, the website has now been visited over a million times by over a quarter of a million teachers and parents from over 210 countries. (Click here for the Google Analytics report)
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The website encourages teachers and parents globally to integrate storytelling as part of their mathematics teaching. The website offers a wide range of free on-line resources e.g., the world’s largest database of recommendations for mathematical stories (500+); reviews of mathematical stories (100+), lesson ideas as contributed by teachers from different countries, exclusive interviews with some of the world’s leading mathematical story authors, among other resources.

The development of the website has been informed by research findings from an international survey study that Dr. Trakulphadetkrai leads and collaborates on with academic colleagues in different countries to investigate the extent to which teachers integrate children’s literature in their mathematics teaching as well as their perceived barriers to and enablers for such integration. The project’s first paper, second paper, and third paper focus on reporting data collected from Irish teachers, Maltese teachers and Australian teachers respectively. The fourth paper is currently in press, and reports findings collected from Taiwanese teachers. The fifth paper will be the biggest study in the series and will report findings from English teachers. Altogether, the five papers collected survey data from over 1,700 teachers across the five countries.

In January 2020, a new guidance report by the UK’s Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), an independent charity sets out to improve the educational attainment of the poorest pupils in English schools, recommends MathsThroughStories.org as a go-to resource for teachers looking for ideas on how to enhance their mathematics teaching through storytelling. During the pandemic, schools throughout the UK also recommended the website to parents to support their children’s mathematics learning at home.
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“I am thrilled that the MathsThroughStories.org website has reached this incredible milestone. I love seeing teachers recommending my website to fellow teachers and parents on social media. I love seeing teachers tweeting photos of them using story picture books in their maths lessons as they had been so inspired by the website. I love seeing how the development of the website is informed by research findings of my international survey study and how the website helps teachers internationally change their mathematics teaching practice.”, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai commented.
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MathsThroughStories.org can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT.
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You can watch him talking about the MathsThroughStories.org website by clicking on the image below.

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Latest research article by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai (MathsThroughStories.org founder) on Australian primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching is published

27/9/2021

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​A co-authored research article by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading), which set out to examine Australian primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning, has recently been published in Springer’s Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. Thanks to the University of Reading's Open Access funding, the article is available free of charge here.
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His co-authors are Dr. Sharyn Livy (Monash University), Dr. Tracey Muir (University of Tasmania) and Dr. Kevin Larkin (Griffith University).

This paper is the third output of an international survey study which Dr. Trakulphadetkrai leads and collaborates with academics in different countries to investigate the extent to which teachers integrate children’s literature in their mathematics teaching as well as their perceived barriers to and enablers for such integration. The first paper in the series focuses on Irish teachers while the second paper focuses on Maltese teachers. Upcoming papers focus on teachers in Taiwan and England.

To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click 
here. He tweets at @NatthapojVinceT.

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HarperCollins  and Charlesbridge renew their sponsorship of our Young Mathematical Story Author (YMSA) competition

27/9/2020

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We are pleased to announce that both HarperCollins and Charlesbridge have officially renewed their sponsorship of our Young Mathematical Story Author (YMSA) competition.
 
The YMSA competition is the world's first annual international competition set up to encourage young mathematics learners (8-15 years old) from around the world to embed their mathematics learning in a meaningful and engaging context through creating their own mathematical story picture book. This competition is organised by MathsThroughStories.org, and its first competition was held in 2019.
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For the past two years, HarperCollins and Charlesbridge have sponsored the Stuart J. Murphy Award (8-11 year olds category) and the Cindy Neuschwander Award (12-15 year olds category) respectively. For both awards, the winners get £100 cash prize each and their schools also get another £100 cash prize each.
 
HarperCollins is the publisher of MathStart, the world’s largest mathematical stories series authored by a single author (Stuart J. Murphy), and Charlesbridge the publisher of Cindy Neuschwander’s very successful Sir Cumference series.  
 
If you want to learn more about our 2021 YMSA competition, click here.  ​

Winning and shortlisted entries from our 2019 competition can be found here, and from our 2020 competition can be found here. 
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Latest research paper co-authored by MathsThroughStories.org founder is now published

11/9/2020

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A co-authored paper by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStoris.org and Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Reading), which set out to examine Maltese teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching, has recently been published in Taylor and Francis’s Cogent Education journal. The article is available free of charge here.
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This paper is the second paper in an international series of research papers that Dr. Trakulphadetkrai collaborates with academics in different countries to investigate the extent to which teachers use children's literature in mathematics teaching and their perceived barriers to and enablers for doing so. The first paper in the series focuses on Irish teachers and upcoming papers focus on teachers in Taiwan, Australia, Israel and England. 

To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's research interests, click here. 
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MathsThroughStories.org now has over 5,000 Followers on Twitter

1/9/2020

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The Twitter account of MathsThroughStories.org (@MathsStories) now has over 5,000 Followers. 

Since the launch of the Twitter account, our on-line community has grown rapidly. It remains a very vibrant place for teachers, parents, researchers and storytellers who are passionate in the use of storytelling to enrich mathematics teaching and learning to come together and learn from one another. 

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. 

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The MathsThroughStories.org website has been recommended by schools across the UK and the Education Endowment Foundation to support parents in their homeschooling effort during the lockdown

26/6/2020

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Since school closures began earlier this year due to COVID19, parents have found themselves having to support their child's homeschooling. To that end, we are very pleased that many schools across the UK have recommended various free on-line resources on our MathsThroughStories.org website to parents. Some of these examples are included below. (More examples can be found in the bottom section of our Research Impact webpage.)

We are also very pleased that our website is also recommended in a recent blog post by the UK's Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), an independent charity sets out to improve the educational attainment of the poorest pupils in English schools. The blog post includes advice to support parents in their homeschooling effort. It is worth noting that our website is also highlighted as a go-to resource for teachers looking for ideas on how to enhance their mathematics teaching through storytelling in their guidance report at the beginning of this year. 

We are very proud of our work in that it has continued to serve as a trusted source of support for schools and parents, particularly during this challenging time.  
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NEWS - MathsThroughStories.org is recommended as a go-to resource in the new Education Endowment Foundation report on mathematics teaching

30/1/2020

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​A new report by the UK's Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), an independent charity sets out to improve the educational attainment of the poorest pupils in English schools, recommends MathsThroughStories.org as a go-to resource for teachers looking for ideas on how to enhance their mathematics teaching through storytelling.

Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) commented that: 

"It is wonderful to see a guidance report by an influential organisation like the EEF explicitly recommends teachers to enhance their mathematics teaching using storytelling. As a cherry on top, it is humbling to see the report highlights my MathsThroughStories.org initiative as a go-to resource for teachers." 

The full report can be accessed here. 
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MathsThroughStories.org, a non-profit initiative, sets out to encourage teachers and parents globally to enhance their maths teaching through storytelling. The website provides free on-line resources including the world’s largest database of recommendations for maths stories, 100+ reviews of maths story picture books, exclusive interviews with maths story authors, blog posts, and a list of recommended research articles and articles written for practitioners. The website also provides free story-inspired maths lesson ideas as contributed by teachers from different countries. Last year, MathsThroughStories.org launched the world’s first international maths story writing competition, receiving over 200 entries from children in several countries. Since its launched in 2017, the website has been viewed over 390,000 times by more than 84,000 teachers and parents from over 190 countries.
Through Dr. Trakulphadetkrai, the initiative also collaborates with academics in different countries to work on original empirical research projects relating to the use of storytelling in maths teaching. To date, the initiative also provides CPD training to around 600 in-service teachers at schools and 2,000+ teacher trainees at 30+ universities throughout the UK.

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NEWS - MathsThroughStories.org's Twitter account now has over 4,000 Followers plus our brand new Instagram account

28/9/2019

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​MathsThroughStories.org's Twitter account (@MathsStories), created in 2015 and officially opened in 2017, now has over 4,000 Followers. The account continues to provide a great platform where we can keep teachers and parents updated on what we do. We have also seen how several teachers use Twitter to directly recommend our initiative to other teachers - as captured on the Shoutouts page on our website.  

We are also excited to announce that we now have an Instagram account: @MathsThroughStories. We hope for those who are always on Instagram will enjoy having another channel of communication with us! Please follow our Instagram account and help spread the word about it :- )

We would love to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your on-going interest and support in our initiative. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page too! And who knows - we might push the boat out and have a YouTube page too! :- )
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​MathsThroughStories.org's Twitter account (@MathsStories), created in 2015 and officially opened in 2017, now has over 4,000 Followers.
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The Shoutouts page on our website
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Our brand new Instagram account
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NEWS - MathsThroughStories.org is featured in the new promotional brochure of the University of Reading's Institute of Education

1/8/2019

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MathsThroughStories.org is featured in the new promotional brochure of the University of Reading's Institute of Education. The brochure highlights a number of 'stories' featuring a few selected staff and students of the Institute. In Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) story, he explains how his research passion and expertise in mathematical story picture books are formed and the rationale behind his MathsThroughStories.org initiative. To access the full brochure, click here. 
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NEWS – Article by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) about the power of teaching mathematics through storytelling published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES)

26/6/2019

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An article by Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education) has recently been published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES).

The article, titled ‘How picture books help maths teaching’, sets out to convince teachers of older primary school pupils to teach mathematics using story picture books. Dr. Trakulphadetkrai comments that: “I have been arguing – and will continue to argue – that teaching mathematics using story picture books could also benefit mathematics learning of older pupils. Specifically, I would argue that the use of mathematical story picture books could foster pupils’ conceptual understanding through multi-representation of mathematical concepts and variation of mathematical situations. The approach could also help to develop language skills, and foster engagement with mathematics learning.”

​To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, visit his profile page 
here and his MathsThroughStories.org project’s website here.

​The article can be accessed here. (TES subscription is required)
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NEWS – Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai’s ‘MathsThroughStories.org’ project was a finalist of the University of Reading’s 2019 Research Engagement and Impact Award

25/6/2019

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai’s ‘MathsThroughStories.org’ project was announced a finalist of the University of Reading’s 2019 Research Engagement and Impact Award at the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 25 June 2019 on 25 June 2019. With almost 40 submissions from across the University this year, only 12 projects got shortlisted. According to the Awards webpage, “The Awards recognise and reward people at the University who undertake or support high-quality engagement and impact activities.”
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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai’s
 ‘MathsThroughStories.org’ project sets out to raise teachers’ awareness of the power of storytelling to make mathematics learning more accessible and enjoyable. Drawing from the findings of his research on teachers’ self-reported key barriers that prevent them from teaching mathematics using storytelling, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai designed the website to try to eliminate those barriers. The website offers several free on-line resources, including the world’s largest database of 500+ recommendations for mathematical stories, book reviews, lesson ideas and monthly CPD newsletters.

​Since its launch in 2017, the website has been viewed over 280,000 times by more than 54,000 teachers and parents from over 180 countries. With over 3,700 Twitter followers, teachers are using the social media to praise Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s initiative and share his recommended mathematical stories and other free resources with colleagues globally. A rapidly growing number of teachers have also been inspired by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s initiative, and have become on-line contributors sharing lesson ideas with other teachers on the website.
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​Over the past two years, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai has also been running free workshops at 30+ universities nationally and internationally to model to teacher educators his Maths Through Stories training approach so they themselves can train the next generations of teachers. Nearly 2,000 teacher trainees have received his training. Dr. Trakulphadetkrai has also been invited to meet with representatives of Ireland’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in Dublin in March 2019 to explore how explicit recommendations for Irish teachers to use storytelling can be included in the country’s upcoming primary mathematics curriculum.
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NEWS – Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) invited to give a keynote talk on teaching mathematics through storytelling at a conference for over 100 school leaders in Kent

31/5/2019

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On Wednesday 22 May 2019, Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education) was invited by the Medway Educational Leaders Association (MELA) to give a keynote talk, titled ‘What if maths was taught through storytelling?’, at the MELA’s annual conference for over 100 school leaders in Kent.

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In his talk, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai argued for why teaching mathematics to primary school students using story picture books can be pedagogically powerful. He also highlighted the approach’s underpinning theories and different types of mathematical story picture books. He showed how practitioners can receive CPD support on teaching mathematics using story picture books through his MathsThroughStories.org initiative.
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​As another keynote speaker was one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) who talked about the new school inspection framework, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai explained to school leaders how the idea of teaching mathematics through storytelling aligns nicely with the focus of the new framework, particularly in relation to the expectation that “Pupils’ mathematical knowledge is developed and used, where appropriate, across the curriculum.”
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Gavin Evans (the Head of Primary Education of all primary schools within the Skills For Life Trust) commented that “The keynote talk given by Dr. Vince was truly inspirational. Both the content and his presentation style engaged the whole audience for 50 minutes and was one of the key, positive feedback points at the end of the conference. The detail provided about how story books can be used to deliver Maths concepts was enlightening and I know will begin to have a huge impact across Medway schools. Thank you!”
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was also asked by the conference organiser to bring along a range of mathematical story picture books to show to school leaders, after his keynote talk, appropriate materials for their schools to consider using in their mathematics teaching.
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NEWS – Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) was awarded the University’s Endowment Fund to organise a free Maths Through Stories workshop for Mathematics Subject Co-ordinators of local schools

1/5/2019

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai
 (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education) was awarded the University’s Endowment Fund to organise a free research-based Maths Through Stories workshop for Mathematics Subject Co-ordinators of local schools. The fund was awarded by the Vice-Chancellor following a bidding process. Its aim is to support staff to organise an event “involving the public or external stakeholders”. Across the University, there are only around ten members of staff being awarded. This fund is in addition to the £10,000 University Research Fellowship that Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was recently awarded to allow him to focus on conducting a research project exploring the effectiveness of pupils creating their own mathematical story picture books on their mathematics learning next academic year.
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai used a portion of the awarded fund to organise a free 3-hour workshop training Mathematics Subject Co-ordinators of local schools on how to teach mathematics using story picture books, which is his research expertise. The event took place on 1 May 2019 and attracted Mathematics Subject Co-ordinators of around 30 primary schools across Berkshire.
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Following this event, the teachers are expected to deliver a mathematics lesson using a story picture book and to write up their lesson idea and share it with other teachers from around the world on Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research project website (MathsThroughStories.org). The rest of the fund will be spent on creating a training video with the help of teachers and pupils from Redlands Primary School. This video will be made available on the MathsThroughStories.org website and will be used as part of Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s future training workshops and those delivered by teacher educators in the UK and abroad.

​Comments from some of the workshop participants include:

“Thought provoking, engaging. I will share the resources [on MathsThroughStories.org] with the rest of the teaching team. As Mathematics Coordinator, I will include stories as part of the Mathematics curriculum planning overview.”

“Thoroughly engaging due to its inspiring concept, workshop leader and immersive material. I feel inspired to implement the strategy of mathematics teaching through stories.”

“Really interesting and useful. I am excited to trial a story picture book within a Maths unit. I think my school setting from Reception to Year 6 will find this exhilarating. I look forward to sharing this!”

“It was really engaging and inspiring to realise the wealth of resources out there! I will endeavour to use story picture books in my mathematics teaching to help children make links.”
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NEWS – Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) was awarded the University Research Fellowship

30/4/2019

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​Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education) has recently been awarded the University of Reading’s Research Fellowship (£10,000) for the 2019/2020 academic year. Twenty Fellowship applications were submitted, and only five applications were chosen across the university’s five research themes. According to the University’s press release, “Five Reading academics at the top of their game have been awarded University Research Fellowships to develop their work in the arts, humanities and social sciences over the next year.”
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Applications were assessed in terms of originality, rigour and significance of the proposed Fellowship project as well as the extent to which it shows ambition and constitute a ‘step change’ in the work of the applicant. The Fellowship is for the duration of one year.
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​Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s project, titled ‘Learning Mathematics through Creating Story Picture books: A New Mathematics Teaching Strategy for Primary School Children’  will be built on his pilot study. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an innovative mathematics teaching strategy whereby children creating their own mathematical story picture books (MSPB). Specifically, it sets out to measure the extent to which asking Year 4 (8-9 years old) children to create MSPB about multiplication can help to develop their conceptual understanding of the topic. Finally, the study will also explore key stakeholders’ perceptions of this teaching strategy.

Dr. Trakulphadetkrai said: “Existing studies on this topic tend to be conducted in the early years (3-5 years old) and Key Stage 1 (5-7 years old) settings and they treated children as only consumers rather than producers of MSPB. This study will be the first empirical study of its kind to investigate the effect of treating children as producers of MSPB.” He also added that “This study will form part of my research underpinning my non-profit MathsThroughStories.org initiative, which sets out to encourage teachers and parents globally to teach mathematics using storytelling.”

To learn more about Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s research interests, click here.

​To learn more about the Fellowship and details of the other Fellowship recipients, click here.
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NEWS – MathsThroughStories.org research presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Toronto

9/4/2019

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Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) presented their research at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Toronto. The AERA conference is one of the world’s largest education conferences and this year it was held between Friday 5 April Tuesday 9 April 2019 in Toronto, Canada.
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​Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s presentation (titled ‘Irish Teachers’ Perceptions on the Integration of Children’s Literature in Mathematics Teaching and Learning’) was based on a recent research project that he collaborated with Dr. Mark Prendergast (Trinity College Dublin) as well as Dr. Lorraine Harbison and Sue Miller (Dublin City University). This study explored Irish pre-service and in-service teachers’ views on the use of children’s literature to support mathematics teaching and learning and to investigate perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’ literature in the mathematics classroom.
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MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

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