In this monthly column, we speak with a notable member of the Western Canadian mathematics education community about their past, present, and future work, and about their perspectives on the teaching and learning of mathematics. This month, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Kathy Nolan.
Dr. Kathy Nolan is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics curriculum, qualitative research, and contemporary issues in education. Dr. Nolan’s current research focuses on mathematics teacher education, exploring issues of teacher identity and the regulatory practices of schooling, learning and knowing. Bourdieu’s social field theory and theories of critical mathematics education feature prominently in Dr. Nolan’s work. She is the author and co-editor of two books, as well as author of more than 40 published articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings papers. In 2012, she was awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant for her project entitled Reconceptualizing Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education: Critical and Reflexive Perspectives. Within this qualitative research program, Dr. Nolan seeks to strengthen connections between teacher education, curriculum reform and mathematics education research by studying the interplay of different perspectives, or dimensions, of teacher education. One such perspective includes research into the design and facilitation of a professional learning community approach to teacher education internship.