Speakers
Description
We report on early phases of a design-based research (DBR) study that focused on iterative development of MathsBeat — an activity that integrates mathematics, music and movement in a coding context. Conducted within the EU TransEET project, primary pupils composed music using fractions and developed algorithms in an ‘unplugged’ coding activity to instruct each other to perform a dance that accompanies the music they developed. Initial findings indicate that MathsBeat promotes enjoyment and has the potential to engage students in computational thinking while at the same time promotes the application of addition and equivalence of fractions in a meaningful performing arts context.
CV
Christie Haddad, Adhinand Shibu, Eirini Geraniou, Sokratis Karkalas, Manolis Mavrikis
Christie Haddad is a PhD candidate in Culture, Communication, and Media at the UCL Institute of Education and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is also a Graduate Teaching Fellow in Social Science and Public Policy at King’s College London where she has been leading seminars in social policy, philosophy, childhood studies, and media and culture studies since 2021. Christie’s doctorate explores the design, development, and implementation of in-person and online professional development workshops for teachers, focusing on the use of digital tools within educational settings. Her research interests include EdTech, early childhood and primary education, music education, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Abhinand Shibu is a graduating MA student in Education and Technology at the UCL Institute of Education, soon starting a joint doctoral program in Learning Sciences at ETH Zurich and EPFL, based in the EPFL ML4ED laboratory. His core research interests revolve around Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), focusing on multimodal tutoring systems and interpretable pedagogical models. He also enjoys exploring interdisciplinary constructivist approaches to education. Abhinand's long-term aspirations involve aligning motivations and bringing together various EdTech stakeholders to build well-resourced, socially considerate, evidence-based technologies that are effective and deployed at scale.
Dr Eirini Geraniou is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. She has extensive expertise on training maths teachers. Eirini’s research interests are in the use of Digital Technologies (DT) for mathematical teaching and learning and Mathematical Digital Competency. She has worked on numerous research projects, including the design and use of digital tools and tasks, and the design of assessment for surveying teachers’ digital competence and programming skills.
Dr Karkalas has been working since 1991 both in the industry and in academia. He is a visiting researcher at the UCL Knowledge Lab and a senior lecturer in software engineering at the University of Derby (UK) where he is leading the research group Education and AI. He worked for several years as a researcher at the UCL Knowledge Lab, and as a visiting and associate lecturer at City and Birkbeck Universities, London respectively. In 2015 he was awarded the best doctoral research award by INSTICC (Institute of Information, Control and Communication Systems and Technologies). Since then, he has worked as a scientific associate and researcher in many large European and other UK funded projects related to educational data mining, learning analytics, highly interactive web learning components, automated support in exploratory learning environments and has designed related platforms.
Manolis Mavrikis is Professor at the UCL Knowledge Lab, an interdisciplinary research centre at the UCL Faculty of Education and Society. With a research agenda spanning over 20 years, Manolis has contributed to the field through his involvement in various projects and partnerships with schools and third-sector organisations. His interests and expertise lie in the design and evaluation of interactive and adaptive environments for exploratory learning. Manolis is also one of the Editors of the British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET) and was director for the UCL master’s in Education and Technology where he is currently teaching a module in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Analytics in Education.
