DEBATERS

Shannon Ezzat, Cape Breton University

Jennifer Holm, Wilfrid Laurier University

Jean-Francois Maheux, Université du Québec à Montréal

Christine Suurtamm, University of Ottawa

Bios

Shannon Ezzat is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Cape Breton University. He earned a Bachelor’s in Education (New Zealand equivalent) and a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Canterbury. Prior to joining CBU, he spent five years at the University of Winnipeg teaching mathematical content to pre-service elementary teachers. His academic interests include the representation theory of infinite (especially nilpotent) groups and the development of logical reasoning in undergraduate students and pre-service teachers.

Jennifer Holm is an Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in the field of mathematics education. She works with Primary/Junior and Junior/Intermediate pre-service teachers on developing their understandings of mathematics for teaching. Her research examines the knowledge that teacher candidates bring to an education program and how to develop understandings that support good teaching in a mathematics methods course, as well as how histories in mathematics can impact learning and development. She is currently a columnist for the Ontario Mathematics Gazette related to knowledge in mathematics and is a co-editor of a new Springer Volume in the Advances in Mathematics Education series discussing the field of mathematics education in Canada in the elementary years.

Jean-Francois Maheux is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Mathematics Department at the Université du Québec à Montréal. His work focuses on mathematical activity from an epistemological perspective—both historical and philosophical—as well as phenomenological and deconstructive research writing within the field, with a particular interest in research as a subject of research. He holds a doctorate from the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), and his work also includes the use of technology in elementary and secondary mathematics education. He is co-PI on a collaborative research project involving teacher trainers, pedagogical consultants, and novice teachers, aimed at better understanding and articulating the relationship between pre-service and in-service teacher education. He regularly teaches prospective primary and secondary teachers, as well as graduate courses. Since 2016, he has been an associate editor for the Journal For the Learning of Mathematics.

Christine Suurtamm is a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Canada, where she has also served terms as Director of Teacher Education and Vice Dean, Research. She began her career as a secondary mathematics teacher and Department Head. Her research focuses on the complexity of mathematics teachers’ classroom practice, particularly on formative assessment practices as opportunities to attend to students’ mathematical thinking. She has been the Principal Investigator on several large-scale projects in mathematics teaching and learning, was the Canadian representative on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Board of Directors, and was Co-Chair of Topic Study Groups on Assessment at two International Congresses for Mathematics Education (ICME-12 & ICME-13). Her contributions to mathematics education through research and teaching have been recognized through multiple university and national awards. She is a co-editor of the series Research in Mathematics Education, published by Information Age Publishing.