Tara Flynn

Tara Flynn
Trent University · School of Education

Master of Education

About

27
Publications
11,405
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247
Citations
Introduction
Tara Flynn is the Director of Research for the Trent Math Education Research Collaborative (TMERC) at Trent University (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) under the direction of Dr. Cathy Bruce. Research areas include: fractions, spatial reasoning, young children’s mathematics, collaborative action research and lesson study.
Additional affiliations
September 2007 - present
Trent University
Position
  • Project Manager and Research Officer

Publications

Publications (27)
Chapter
Beyond 1, 2, 3 is a comprehensive collection providing an overview of important topics within the field of early childhood mathematics education in Canada. Chapters include a mix of theory and practice, a set of learning objectives, key terms, and discussion questions. In this chapter, the learning objectives are to: Engage in spatial reasoning as...
Article
Full-text available
Fractions remain a challenging area of school mathematics at every stage of education, with impacts that extend far beyond the school years. For this study, researchers engaged in classroom-based design research over a 6-year period to investigate effective strategies for teaching fractions with Canadian students. Participants included 86 teachers...
Book
Full-text available
What do students already understand? How can we build on these strengths? What are students ready for next? These questions were at the heart of a multi-year collaborative research project investigating how fractions understanding develops and identifying the instructional strategies that would effectively scaffold student learning. The result is t...
Article
This chapter describes how collaborative action research functions as a professional learning experience, citing three illustrative examples, and elaborating on the intersection of action research and professional learning. It focuses on three large‐scale and multi‐year research projects that involved professional learning through action research....
Thesis
This thesis reports the outcomes of a mixed methods exploratory study on young children’s spatial reasoning and mathematics involving unplugged (offline) coding with young children (JK-Grade 2). Intrigued by the increased push for coding in schools, teachers and researchers worked together in a collaborative research process to design a sequence of...
Poster
Summary: Results of Study 1 showed that students in the experimental group outperformed the control group on a comprehensive test of visual-spatial reasoning at post-test. Results also showed a medium within-group effect size (Cohen’s d) on the same measure from pre to post. Teachers in the study also reported deep learning about connections betwee...
Book
Full-text available
In Taking Shape, spatial reasoning is greeted and treated as integral to and foundational of all mathematics understanding - present in every action, influenced by and influencing every movement through our structured world, and impacting the language used to make sense of experience. To that end, spatial reasoning is not presented as yet another c...
Book
In Taking Shape, spatial reasoning is greeted and treated as integral to and foundational of all mathematics understanding - present in every action, influenced by and influencing every movement through our structured world, and impacting the language used to make sense of experience. To that end, spatial reasoning is not presented as yet another c...
Article
Full-text available
In an effort to increase our understanding of what mathematics young children are capable of when provided with playful yet purposeful opportunities to learn, Canadian researchers initiated lesson study over 4 years with teams of teachers of young children (ages 4–7). The lesson study process followed a lesson study cycle of goal setting, planning,...
Article
Full-text available
In a three-year study of teacher professional learning in Canada, researchers examined the outcomes of professional collaborative inquiry in mathematics on teacher efficacy. The study applied a mixed methods approach involving over 200 teachers and 1000 students as well as case study sites in English and French. The collaborative inquiry-based prof...
Article
Full-text available
In 2008-09, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) sponsored a professional learning initiative entitled, Teachers Learning Together: The Math Journey. The context for teachers was one of team-based, collaborative action research (CAR) dealing with a mathematics topic of their own choosing.University researcher teams in provincial re...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of collaboration in a multi-year, large-scale collaborative action research project in which a teachers’ federation (in Ontario, Canada), university researchers and teachers partnered to investigate teacher-selected topics for inquiry. Over two years, 14 case studies were generated involving six...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to identify when and how the interactive whiteboard (IWB) functioned as a productive tool that impacted student learning in mathematics. Using video data, field notes, and interview transcripts from 1 school year in two optimal case study classrooms, we were able to examine the unique opportunities afforded by the size of...
Article
Full-text available
A developing body of research in classroom mathematics discourse indicates that teacher facilitation can be specific and supportive without interfering in productive student talk. Students, including those who are struggling in mathematics or lack confidence, can benefit from exploring challenging mathematics and engaging in math-talk. In this stud...

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