Welcome to the Mathematics Learning Lab – a research laboratory at the STEM Center for Educational Research FNUG at the University of Southern Denmark.

At the Mathematics Learning Lab, we develop and conduct research on mathematics education at all levels of education and across the transitions between them:

• Early childhood education and care
• Primary and lower secondary school
• High school
• Vocational education and training
• University colleges, such as teacher education and social educator education
• University

The laboratory is a research and development environment where we explore mathematics education in close interaction with other subject areas. The role of mathematics in interdisciplinary contexts is a key focus, and we work to create connections where mathematics contributes to holistic learning across the education system – from early childhood education to university.

Our vision is to develop new approaches to mathematics didactics and learning environments that both strengthen subject-specific competencies and invite more holistic, creative, and sensory ways of experiencing and learning mathematics. The laboratory connects research-based knowledge with practice through experimental teaching approaches that foster curiosity, understanding, and the experience of mathematics as meaningful and relevant.

What do we aim to achieve with the Mathematics Learning Lab?

Our mission is to promote creative and innovative mathematics practices. We use a broad range of research methods to engage in collaborative research and development activities. We work with various types of projects within research, development, networking, teaching, and consultancy, reflecting the laboratory’s core functions:

• To develop and conduct research on mathematics didactic approaches that strengthen mathematics education across educational levels – from early childhood education to university – with a particular focus on the transitions between them.
• To investigate and further develop mathematics education in interdisciplinary contexts, where mathematics contributes to holistic learning and meaningful connections between subject areas.
• To create and test experimental learning environments and teaching approaches that foster curiosity, subject-specific understanding, and creative and sensory ways of experiencing and learning mathematics.
• To connect research-based knowledge with teaching practice through practice-oriented research and development projects in collaboration with teachers, students, and educational institutions.
• To contribute to the development of mathematics didactic knowledge about how different target groups in different educational contexts can experience mathematics as relevant, meaningful, and accessible.
• To strengthen professional communities and networks within mathematics didactics through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and dialogue across the education system.
• To connect research-based knowledge with practice through collaboration with teachers, students, leaders, and educational institutions.