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ALM is an international research forum bringing together researchers and practitioners in adult mathematics/numeracy teaching and learning in order to promote the learning of mathematics by adults.
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ALM bulletin March 2025
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Welcome to the ALM bulletin for March 2025. This issue contains important information about the ALM conference to be held in July 2025 where we plan to join together as a community and discuss important issues concerning research and practice for adults learning mathematics internationally.
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We have two more chances to meet before the conference though, at our next two ALM virtual seminars. These events are valuable ways of sharing knowledge and widening our understanding so I would encourage you to make the most of these opportunities. The first seminar is coming up very soon on Thursday April 3rd 2025, so please register as soon as possible for this event. A second seminar is scheduled for April 23rd 2025. Please save the date for this event and watch for further announcements about registration.
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Also Trude Sundtjønn gives us some personal reflections on her experiences at the CERME 14 conference, held February 2025 in Italy, and Lena Lindenskov gives an update on the Danish project KLUMP on making mathematics more accessible and relevant to vocational students.
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I hope you find plenty to enjoy in the bulletin and that you will be able to join us at the forthcoming ALM events.
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ALM Annual Conference - session proposals
Dates: Wednesday July 9th – Friday July 11th 2025
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ALM 32 will be held at the Jubilee Hotel and Conference Centre, University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus, Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK.
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The call for session proposals is still open but is due to close on March 24th 2025. Please do try to get your session proposal submitted by this date. Proposals will be welcomed for research presentations or teacher-led workshops related to the conference theme Learning from the past and building for the future: international views of adults learning mathematics. Some examples of different types of sessions are given below but this is not an exclusive list, and authors may propose other subjects connected to the conference theme.
- Recent research with relevance to future policy or practice for adults learning mathematics or numeracy;
- Original reviews of prior research or policy with a focus on what we have learned about adults learning mathematics or numeracy over time;
- Recent research into adults’ mathematics learning pathways and the implications for practice or policy;
- Recent research into the impact of adults’ prior experiences on their mathematics or numeracy learning and the implications for practice or policy;
- Evidence-based exploration of new approaches to teaching and learning mathematics or numeracy to suit the future needs of adults in a changing world.
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Further information about the conference and how to submit a session proposal can be found on the ALM32 conference webpage. This will be regularly updated as more details are confirmed.
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Virtual seminars - new events coming soon
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We are pleased to announce two more seminars in our 2024/25 series, on Thursday April 3rd, 2025 and Wednesday April 23rd 2025.
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The first of these will be led by Pauline Vos (Professor of Mathematics Education at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences), who will speak about Out of the mathematics classroom – towards a better understanding of adults’ informal and implicit learning of mathematics in everyday and workplace situations. Pauline leads theoretical research into the why, when and how of using/learning what type of mathematics by which students/users. Her practical research embraces the use of mathematics in daily life and workplaces and the design of learning arrangements combining authentic situations, collaborative inquiry and socio-numeric competencies.
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The following seminar, Numeracy in the OECD’s 2023 Survey of Adults Skills (PIAAC Cycle 2) will be provided by Dave Tout (ACER and University of Melbourne, Australia), Javier Díez-Palomar (University of Barcelona, Spain) and Kees Hoogland (HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, The Netherlands). All the speakers for this seminar are members of the OECD Numeracy Expert Group which was responsible for the assessment framework and the test items in the second cycle of PIAAC. In this seminar, the panel will explain the development of the underlying definitions and proficiency descriptions of numeracy which led to the design of the set of numeracy items used. They will also dig deeper into the outcomes within some of the 31 participating countries, and between countries, and discuss some tentative trends.
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Registration is now open for the first seminar on the 2024/25 virtual seminar webpage but please save the dates and try to join us at these two important seminars.
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CERME 14 – a lovely meeting place in the Italian mountains
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CERME14, the 14th Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education, is a bi-annual mathematics education conference. This year it was held in the lovely old town of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy), from the 4th to 8th of February, 2025. There were more than 900 participants and 29 Thematic Working Groups.
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CERME14 included the topic study group “Mathematics for Work, Society and Personal Development: Lifelong Learning” (TSG07) which is highly relevant to those of us interested in the field of adults learning mathematics. The group was chaired in a great way by Pauline Vos (Netherlands)/(Norway), supported by the co-chairs Beth Kelly (UK); Peter Frejd (Sweden); Michele Giuliano Fiorentino (Italy); Javier Díez-Palomar (Spain); and Oda Heidi Bolstad (Norway).
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In the group there were 5 participants from Italy, 3 participants respectively from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK, 1 participant from Germany and 1 from Spain. We were a great mix of people, some of whom I had seen before, some whose articles I had read earlier, and other researchers that were new to me. We also had a lovely dinner together on the Wednesday, where we got to get to know each other even better.
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There were 17 papers and poster presentations in TSG07, covering a range of topics. There were talks on mathematics in prison, mathematics in vocational education, mathematical literacy, financial literacy, numeracy and the recent PIAAC results. I look forward to the proceedings so that all that were not at CERME14 also can read the interesting results.
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The group had arranged for a ‘TWG07 Best Paper Award’ and a ‘TWG07 Best Poster Award’ sponsored by Brill Publishers. The prize was the recent publication International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning for Mathematical Literacy (2025) https://brill.com/display/title/61437 ). I was greatly honoured to get the best paper award (it’s embarrassing to write this) however I really appreciate the honour among so many great talks. The title still needs some work though - “Complexities when students in vocational mathematics education authenticate authentic aspects in a vocation-related mathematics task”.
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The TWG07 Best Poster Award went to Farhat Syyeda et al., University of Leicester, UK for the poster named “Bridging the Gap: Facilitating female adult learners in the East Midlands Region of England to re-engage with mathematics”. This is a report on an Action Research project to increase enrolment on maths courses in local adult education colleges. They have invited mothers and children to participate in some fun maths activities, to attract their target group. It will be exciting to follow their project, and hopefully we can hear more about it in ALM as well.
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The Danish KLUMP project – latest news
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The Danish KLUMP project on mathematics at vocational education has developed and piloted six new teaching modules at the vocational school Tradium in the city Randers, each compiled through the collaboration of a mathematics teacher and a teacher in a vocational subject with mathematical content. The teaching modules include those for blacksmithing, automotive, bricklaying, carpentry (basic), carpentry (main course) and electrical courses. Modules and results from the pilots will soon be published online and on paper.
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The hope is that using teaching modules designed through such collaboration will help vocational students to see connections between mathematics and their profession.
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ALM International Journal
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The editorial team are pleased to announce that a new ‘online first’ article is now available on the ALMIJ webpage. Maria Ryan’s paper ‘Travelling a Rocky Road’ - Insights into the impact of mathematics anxiety on adults’ mathematics journeys and how this can inform practice reports on a study of adult learners’ mathematics journeys as a way of exploring the development of their anxiety towards mathematics. The paper aims to heighten awareness of how mathematics anxiety can be alleviated for learners and has implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics across the education system.
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The ALM-IJ editorial team are always interested in new proposals for papers about adults learning mathematics, from both researchers and practitioners. You can find further information about publishing in our ALM International Journal at here.
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Please note that the recent call for new members of the Editorial Team has been extended to April 7th 2025, so please give this consideration if you have expertise in this area. The editorial team would also welcome further applications for new reviewers. You can find details of both these roles and the application processes here on the website.
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ALM Membership
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The work of ALM is carried out by a small group of volunteers who give up their own time to plan seminars, arrange conferences, write bulletins and produce the ALM International Journal. However, there are costs involved in maintaining our international presence and we appreciate the support received from ALM members in the form of membership fees to enable this work to continue.
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Membership fees for 2025 were due on January 31st this year, so please could all members check that they have paid. If you are not currently a member of ALM, you can find further information about how to join on the ALM website at https://alm-online.net/become-a-member/. By becoming a member, you are simply showing your support for the work of ALM, which is a registered charity.
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Future bulletins
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We hope that you are enjoying the regular ALM bulletin. If you have news from your part of the world that may be of interest to our international community, then please do get in touch with Lena Lindeskov at lenali@edu.au.dk or send a short draft item for the next bulletin by May 1st 2025.
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Privacy Policy
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We do not send advertisements. We do not send data to third parties. Your membership data are stored offline. You can always ask to have your data removed permanently by sending a request to the membership secretary.
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