UC Spark

Dr Jane McChesney

School of Teacher Education

Fields of Research

  • Mathematics education in primary and secondary schools
  • The learning of number including number sense
  • Classroom interaction and classroom discourse
  • Social practices in science and mathematics lessons
  • Distributed learning involving cognitive tools
  • Classroom experiences of under-achieving students in mathematics
  • Activity theory and classroom discourse
  • Teachers developing as researchers
  • The classroom experiences of Years 7 to 10 students (11 to 14 year olds)

Researcher Summary

A long-standing interest in the classroom experiences of Years 7 to 10 students has led me to focus on the experiences of under-achieving students during mathematics lessons. Rather than focus on individual students or use deficit theories to describe student learning, I have re-conceptualised classroom activity as distributed over three domains: classroom social norms, mathematical tools, and interaction. I have investigated classroom social norms in three junior secondary classrooms, with mathematics programmes considered typical of many classrooms in NZ. Each classroom’s social norms were found to be both explicit and nuanced and influenced the participation structures and practices of both whole class interaction and localised activity during mathematical tasks.
I am also interested in subject matter learning, particularly in mathematics and science. I have used a socio-cultural perspective to re-conceptualise school mathematical artefacts as cognitive mathematical tools. This has enabled me to explore the roles of cognitive tools within classroom activity. Cognitive tools afforded further resources for students, such as making available mathematical information, cues and other signifiers. In each classroom, I found that students and the teacher actively contributed mathematical resources. For the students in these lower and middle ability classes, access to mathematical resources was a significant affordance for further mathematical activity.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Research Groups

Future Research

  • Cognitive tools in mathematics
  • Teacher and peer assistance practices during classroom activity
  • Activity theory as a tool for investigating distributed activity
  • Cognitive tools within a technology interface – simple and graphical calculators
  • Discursive mathematics and science lessons
  • Primary teachers’ experience of analysing NEMP data

Key Methodologies

  • Qualitative methods such as interviews and participant observation
  • Classroom observation – interpretive methodologies
  • Conversation analysis

Affiliations

Publications


  • McChesney, J. (2012) Bending and bouncing: A distributed view of Sonya's learning about refraction. In B. Kaur (Ed.), Understanding teaching and learning: Classroom research revisited: 135-144. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (Chapter in Book)
  • Nanayakkara, S., Culpan, I., McChesney, J. and Dzenis, J. (2011) Being active for later life: What determines sport and exercise participation among retired female government servants in Sri-Lanka? Sabaragamuwa University Journal 10(1): 1-19. (Journal Article)
  • Wilson, S. and McChesney, J. (2010) "I always feel more confident when I know where things are going": How do Pre-service Teachers Engage with Mathematics Curriculum Documentation? Fremantle, Australia: 33rd annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA33 - 2010), 3-7 Jul 2010. In MERGA33 - 2010 649-656. http://www.merga.net.au/documents/MERGA33_Wilson&McChesney.pdf. (Conference Contribution - Paper in published proceedings)
  • McChesney, J. (2010) Children's learning in classroom activities: What might a distributed perspective look like? Christchurch, New Zealand: Graham Nuthall Classroom Research Trust International Symposium 2010, 16-18 Aug 2010. (Conference Contribution - Oral presentation)
  • McChesney, J. (2010) Decomposition And Approximation: Finding A Language For ITE Practices In New Zealand. Waikato Journal of Education 15(1): 113-119. (Journal Article)
  • Carr, M., McChesney, J., Cowie, B., Miles-Kingston, R. and Sands, L. (2010) Dispositions, disciplines, and marble runs: A case study of resourcefulness. Chicago, IL, USA: Learning in the Disciplines, 29 Jun-2 Jul 2010. In Learning in the Disciplines: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences 1 215-221. (Conference Contribution - Paper in published proceedings)
  • McChesney, J. (2010) Mathematics in the early years: Debates, domains, disciplines and dispositions. Christchurch, New Zealand: ULearn pre-conference day, Building capabilities: Literacy and mathematics in the early years, 5 Oct 2010. (Conference Contribution - Oral presentation)
  • Nanayakkara, S., Culpan, I. and McChesney, J. (2010) Regional sports: Navigating the winds of social change for female elite athletes. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 12(2): 38-49. (Journal Article)
  • McChesney, J. (2010) Representations of practice within initial teacher education: Mapping the terrain of professional knowledge. Auckland, New Zealand: Teacher Education Fourm of Aotearoa New Zealand Biennial Conference 2010 (TEFANZ), 26-28 Oct 2010. (Conference Contribution - Oral presentation)
  • Working Group Convened by the Ministry of Education. (2010) Te Aho Tukutuku: Early Mathematics (a maths resource for early childhood education services). Wellington: Ministry of Education. CD-ROM. (Other)
  • McChesney, J. (2010) 'Using language, symbols and texts': What might this mean for primary school mathematics and statistics? In R. Averill and R. Harvey (Ed.), Teaching primary school mathematics and statistics: Evidence-based practice: 251-259. Wellington: NZCER Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • McChesney, J. (2009) How do students learn maths? Theorising about learning. In R. Averill and R. Harvey (Ed.), Teaching Secondary School Mathematics and Statistics: Evidence-based practice, Vol. 1: 67-78. Wellington: NZCER Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • McChesney, J. (2009) I worked out a wicked way to do it: Students, teachers, and classroom talk. In R. Averill and R. Harvey (Ed.), Teaching Secondary School Mathematics and Statistics: Evidence-based practice, Vol. 2: 47-60. Wellington: NZCER Press. (Chapter in Book)
  • McChesney, J. and Cowie, B. (2008) Communicating, thinking and tools: Exploring two of the key competencies. Curriculum Matters 4: 102-112. (Journal Article)
  • McChesney, J. (2006) Children's Strategies in Numeracy Activity. National Education Monitoring Project. 18pp. (Report for External Body)
  • McChesney, J.S. (2004) Number Sense in a Secondary School Context. PhD, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. (Thesis - Doctor of Philosophy)