THE EARLY YEARS

Fred Brinkman
The RDC was instituted in the late 1980s, originally under the name of "The training of science teachers." Under the leadership of Fred Brinkman (pictured second from left above, and at the Warsaw conference in 2002), it rapidly became perhaps the largest and most dynamic group in the Association. It was one of the few RDCs to focus on teacher education for a specific school subject - or, more accurately, a cluster of subjects. From the mid-1990s, the group attracted a number of participants who were chiefly interested in mathematics education rather than science education, and the RDC willingly enlarged its mandate to include studies related to mathematics. Work at this stage was varied, but many papers had a focus on teacher thinking and conceptual change. This focus was eventually reflected in the RDC's first formal project, which dominated the work of the group in the late 1990s.
DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE TIME OF THE FIRST RDC PROJECT

Onno de Jong
The mathematics educators in the group were the first to form a collaborative subgroup (known as the Oslo Maths Group because their collaborative project - the Oslo Maths Project - started at the annual conference in Oslo in 1995), using what became known as the "lesson preparation method." Their methodology was replicated by subgroups in the different science areas, and the larger project flourished. During this period, leadership of the group was taken over by Onno de Jong, a notable participant in the project; his appointment maintained the strong influence of teacher educators from the Netherlands that contributed to the group's early productivity. It should be noted also that Sheila Turner and Tony Turner, both from England, served as joint vice-chairs until 2000, when they bowed out of ATEE. They were replaced as RDC vice-chairs by Laurinda Leite (Portugal) and Elizabeth Oldham (Ireland), representing science and mathematics respectively. The name of the group was changed to "The training of science and mathematics teachers" to emphasize the widened mandate - though the expanded designation was not always reflected in ATEE literature and communications.
WORK IN THE 2000s
Varied work continued, and included the development of further projects (with Chris Hopkins from England and Sarah [Sally] Berenson from the USA playing key roles in the projects' design). Conference sessions involving the RDC benefited also from the presentation of papers on many topics unconnected with these. A further name change - this time undertaken as part of a streamlining exercise by ATEE - saw the group take on its present title, "Science and mathematics education."
Varied work continued, and included the development of further projects (with Chris Hopkins from England and Sarah [Sally] Berenson from the USA playing key roles in the projects' design). Conference sessions involving the RDC benefited also from the presentation of papers on many topics unconnected with these. A further name change - this time undertaken as part of a streamlining exercise by ATEE - saw the group take on its present title, "Science and mathematics education."

Subsequently, ATEE abolished the designations "co-chair" and "vice-chair". Laurinda and Elsa ended their periods of office in 2019, and Milan Stojkovic (from Serbia, and currently working in Germany) took over as chair for science. In Spring 2021, Elizabeth was replaced as chair for mathematics by Lorraine Harbison (from Ireland).
In 2015 and 2016, discussion at the RDC meetings included consideration of STEM education. The RDC considered extending its mandate so as to cover this area or cooperating with the RDC "Teacher education and digital technology" on the subject. Ideas are still welcome, but the potential dialogue was obviated by the COVID pandemic and hence the absence of face-to-face discussions. The pandemic also inhibited work on the (then) latest project, the Functions Project.
In 2015 and 2016, discussion at the RDC meetings included consideration of STEM education. The RDC considered extending its mandate so as to cover this area or cooperating with the RDC "Teacher education and digital technology" on the subject. Ideas are still welcome, but the potential dialogue was obviated by the COVID pandemic and hence the absence of face-to-face discussions. The pandemic also inhibited work on the (then) latest project, the Functions Project.
DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 2021
When work resumed at the (virtual) Warsaw conference in 2021, focus shifted to the design of low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that could engage students in problem posing and problem solving in science and mathematics. This led over the next couple of years to the development of Mathscify, a multilingual toolkit - encapsulated in a website - containing tasks and resources for supporting teachers in the formative assessment of students undertaking the tasks. Mathscify is the first funded project run by the Science and Mathematics RDC. Work is currently ongoing (2025).
When work resumed at the (virtual) Warsaw conference in 2021, focus shifted to the design of low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that could engage students in problem posing and problem solving in science and mathematics. This led over the next couple of years to the development of Mathscify, a multilingual toolkit - encapsulated in a website - containing tasks and resources for supporting teachers in the formative assessment of students undertaking the tasks. Mathscify is the first funded project run by the Science and Mathematics RDC. Work is currently ongoing (2025).
PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
The RDC's website, set up in summer 2012, is a natural place in which to store visual as well as textual material. This section displays photographs that show RDC members - at work, or enjoying the social life that is a feature of ATEE conferences! In general, the photographs here are those taken by members, complementing the official records that may appear on ATEE websites. The most recent pictures can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the page.
We welcome contributions! These - in .jpg or .png format - can be sent to either of the RDC's chairs: currently Milan Stojkovic ([email protected]) and Lorraine Harbison ([email protected]).
The RDC's website, set up in summer 2012, is a natural place in which to store visual as well as textual material. This section displays photographs that show RDC members - at work, or enjoying the social life that is a feature of ATEE conferences! In general, the photographs here are those taken by members, complementing the official records that may appear on ATEE websites. The most recent pictures can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the page.
We welcome contributions! These - in .jpg or .png format - can be sent to either of the RDC's chairs: currently Milan Stojkovic ([email protected]) and Lorraine Harbison ([email protected]).
INTER-CONFERENCE RDC MEETING 1996
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1999
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2002
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2013
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2014
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2016
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2017
WINTER CONFERENCE 2018
SPRING CONFERENCE 2018
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2018
WINTER CONFERENCE 2019 [ORGANISED BY THE RDC]
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019
NOTE
There was no Annual Conference in 2020. The Annual Conference in 2021 was held online, and that in 2022 was hybrid - with the RDC meetings being virtual, and no photos were taken.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2023
SPRING CONFERENCE 2024
[Note: there was no Annual Conference in 2024; the Spring conference played the role.]