Professor Julian Williams, PhD
Professor of Mathematics Education; Director of Postgraduate Research, School of Education; Director of Learning, Teaching and Assessment teaching group, School of Education.
Main research interests:
Main research interests involve: Cultural Historical Activity Theory; Mathematics teaching, learning and assessment; applied mathematics, mechanics, modelling and problem solving in science and technology; and assessment, testing and measurement.
Recent research projects have been funded by ESRC, (Innovation and change), Leverhulme Trust (Workplace mathematics), Nuffield (Mathematical modelling and applications) and Gatsby Foundations (Mechanics in action project), as well as Government agencies such as UCAS (Survey of mathematical needs of undergraduate courses), QCA (test analysis and evaluation). Involved as co-investigator in research projects in Australia and Israel, and expert consultant to the Smith inquiry (2004).
Director of the MALT project researching and developing standardised and diagnostic assessment in Mathematics; leads the Socio-cultural interest group in Manchester and convenes the BERA SIG on Socio-cultural Activity Theory.
Currently lead PI of the ESRC TLRP Widening Participation Programme project entitled: 'Keeping the door open to mathematically-demanding programmes in Higher Education'.
Some recent relevant publications
Williams, J. S., Wake G. D. & Jervis, A. (1998). General mathematical competence in vocational education. In C. Hoyles, C. Morgan & G. Woodhouse (Eds.) Mathematics Education for the 21th Century. London: Falmer Press. (pp. 90-103).
Amir, G. S. & Williams, J. S. (1998). Cultural influences on childrens probabilistic thinking. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 18(1), 85-107.
Linchevski, L. & Williams, J. S. (1999). Using intuition from everyday life in 'filling' the gap in children's extension of their number concept to include the negative numbers. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 39 (1-3), 131-147 (Special issue: Teaching and learning mathematics in context).
Williams, J. S. & Ryan, J. T. (2000). National tests and the improvement of classroom teaching: can they coexist? British Educational Research Journal ,29(1), 1-40.
Williams, J. S. & Wake G. D. (2000). Developing a new mathematics curriculum for post compulsory education. In A. Bessot & J. Ridgway (Eds.) Education for mathematics in the workplace Dordrecht: Kluwer. (pp. 167-180).
Mildenhall, P. & Williams, J.S. (2001). Instability in students' use of intuitive and Newtonian models to predict motion: the effect of the parameters involved. International Journal of Science Education, 23(6), 643-660.
Williams, J.S., Wake, G.D. & Boreham, N.C. (2001). College mathematics and workplace practice: an activity theory perspective. Research in Mathematics Education(3),69-83.
Ryan, J.T. & Williams, J.S. (2002). Charting argumentation space in a conceptual locale. Research in Mathematics Education, 4, 89-111.
Misailidou, C. & Williams, J.S. (2003). Diagnostic Assessment of Children's Proportional Reasoning, Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 22(3), 335-368.
Corbin, B., McNamara, O., & Williams, J.S. (2003). Numeracy Coordinators: Brokering Change Within and Between Communities, British Journal of Educational Studies, 51(4), 344-368.
Williams, J.S. and Wake, G.D. (accepted), Black boxes in Workplace Mathematics, Educational Studies in Mathematics.
Williams, J.S. and Wake, G.D. (accepted). Metaphors and models, Educational Studies in Mathematics.
Other recent papers are available on http://www.education.man.ac.uk/lta/jsw/