PhD Candidate in Mathematics Education
- Employer
- NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - NTNU
- Location
- Trondheim, Norway
- Closing date
- 1 Feb 2022
View more
- Academic Discipline
- Mathematics & Statistics, Physical Sciences
- Job Type
- Academic Posts, Studentships / Grants & Scholarships
- Contract Type
- Temporary
- Hours
- Full Time
About the position
From 1st May 2022, we have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in mathematics education at the Department of Teacher Education. The appointment is four years with one year teaching duties within the Mathematics Section.
For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.
The Department of Teacher Education has about 450 employees and has teacher education programs for primary and secondary education with approximately 4000 students. The department has a broad continuing education portfolio for teachers and principals and offers bachelor, master’s, and integrated master’s degrees. Several programmes are given in collaboration with other parts of NTNU. The Norwegian Centre for Mathematics Education, The Norwegian Centre for Writing Education and Research are within the department. The Department of Teacher Education (and NTNU) is the host institution for the Norwegian National Research School in Teacher Education (NAFOL). The department has extensive research activity and PhD education related to research on school and education.
The position is in the field of “Computational Thinking and Programming in Mathematics Education” (COTPIME), which includes core notions such as decomposition, algorithmic thinking, modelling, logical and analytical thinking and automation, and problem-solving. COTPIME activities are now included in the Norwegian Mathematics Curriculum. The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to the development of theoretical and methodological ideas relating to COTPIME by (1) collaborations with teachers to co-design tasks for primary and/or secondary school students to promote mathematical reasoning and (2) focusing on the teachers’ professional development. In other words, the candidate will collaborate with primary and/or secondary school teachers and researchers to design, develop, pilot, and refine activities concerning computational thinking and programming-related curriculum competencies. The candidate will also focus on the mathematics teachers’ professional development in the task design and implementation processes. Furthermore, the candidate will be collaborating with international researchers, who are from the Netherlands, England, and Sweden.
You will report to the Head of Section for Mathematics.
Duties of the position
The PhD position provides an exciting opportunity to gain broad experience and expertise working on the COTPIME, collaborating with teachers and international researchers. The main duties are:
- Complete obligatory coursework in the PhD program.
- Design activities regarding computational thinking and programming, and collect data through both qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Analyse (qualitative & quantitative) data from theoretical and conceptual lenses, which are related to COPTIME.
- Collaborate with others, co-authoring research papers etc.
- Disseminate project findings at national/international key conferences.
- Complete a PhD thesis, preferably based on referred articles published in the key journals.
- Teaching duties determined by the Mathematics Section.
Required selection criteria
- You must have a professionally relevant background in mathematics education or mathematics, and you must be familiar with computational and programming tools.
- Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
- You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
- You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program
Master’s students who are expected to complete their master’s degree studies by summer 2022 are also encouraged to apply. Employment will then be postponed until the master’s degree is finished.
The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant
Preferred selection criteria
- A master’s degree in mathematics education is an advantage.
- Excellent English skills (written and oral). The candidates from universities outside Scandinavia and English-speaking countries are kindly requested to document English language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English).
- Fluency in a Scandinavian language will be considered an advantage.
- Documented experience in computing, programming and related programming languages is an advantage.
Personal characteristics
The candidate
- is good at anticipating problems and identifying logical solutions as well as contradictions and inconsistencies
- develops effective, sensible and practical solutions to problems
- is positive and enthusiastic, even in difficult situations
- gives projects direction and encourages cooperation and interaction in a positive way
- prefers cooperation to individual or competitive work, shares responsibility and helps the group to get the job done
- develops considerable expertise over time
- keeps others informed, provides specific and constructive feedback
We offer
- exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
- an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
- favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
- employee benefits
Salary and conditions
PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
The period of employment is four years including 25% teaching duties under the Section of Mathematics.
Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Educational Sciences within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.
The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.
It is a prerequisite that you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.
About the application
The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.
Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.
The application must include:
- A cover letter where the applicant describes the personal motivation, summarising scientific work, and how the applicant sees her/his background suitable.
- CV (summarising education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity etc).
- certificates, transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a Diploma Supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that you are in the final phase of the the master's degree program.
- A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
- A draft research proposal and research plan (2 pages) for the PhD study, where the candidate presents her/his own ideas for the PhD-work and how it can be applied, based on the position description. This proposal will be neither final nor binding for the PhD activities.
- The documentation of English language proficiency.
- Name and contact information of three referees (name, relation to candidate, work e-mail and telephone number)
- Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items)
If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.
Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.
In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.
NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.
General information
A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.
The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.
As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.
In accordance with The Public Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.
If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Melih Turgut, telephone: +47 735 58 959, email: melih.turgut@ntnu.no.
If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Adviser Aaste Line Strand, email: aaste.l.strand@ntnu.no
Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).
If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number SU-674 when applying.
Application deadline: February 1st. 2022
NTNU - knowledge for a better world
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.
Department of Teacher Education
The Department of Teacher Education offers a full range of study programmes for primary and secondary education in Norway.
Our department supports several active research and development projects in learning, teaching, and school leadership and management, as well as artistic work. The Department of Teacher Education is part of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences at NTNU. We offer an open and inclusive work environment.
Deadline 1st February 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Kalvskinnet
Get job alerts
Create a job alert and receive personalised job recommendations straight to your inbox.
Create alert