Prof. NG Oi-lam

Introduction

Dr. Oi-Lam Ng earned her PhD in Mathematics Education at Simon Fraser University and formerly served as a SSHRC post-doctoral fellow at University of Calgary. She began her career as a high-school Mathematics teacher in Vancouver, Canada, where she completed a BA in Mathematics (First Class graduate), and an MEd in Curriculum and Instructions at The University of British Columbia. Since 2018, Dr. Ng has been serving as Deputy Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Mathematics Education (BMED) Programme. She has taught or is currently teaching the following courses: Research Teaching and Learning Mathematics in the Changing Curriculum; Researching Action in Mathematics Teaching; Teaching Number and Number Sense, Mathematics Curriculum and Teaching: Instructional Technology and Design of STEM Activities; Mathematics Teaching Project Report; Special Topics in STEAM Education and Research. Dr. Ng serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Mathematical Behavior (Elsevier), Journal of Educational Computing Research (SAGE), Digital Experience in Mathematics Education (Springer), and Journal for STEM Education Research (Springer).

Research Areas

Dr. Ng's research interests cover three areas of local and global significance: technology innovations in mathematics classrooms, language and mathematics discourse, and constructionist learning in STEM education. It is informed by previous scholarship on the interaction between technological and mathematical evolution, and by research on new ways of doing, communicating, and representing mathematics as afforded by technology innovations. In particular, she is interested in examining mathematics classroom discourse as situated in technology-rich learning environments. As shown in her research, this type of discourse is often rich in a multimodal sense, involving both verbal and non-verbal communication, such as gestures. Dr. Ng's recent RGC-funded research contributes towards advancing a Papert-inspired conception of "learning as making" in technology-rich mathematics classrooms. It explores the new opportunities entailed by engaging learners in constructionist practices with emergent technologies (e.g. 3D printing, programmable electronics, etc):

1. Principal Investigator (2019-Present). The Effects of Implementing a 'Learning as Making' Pedagogy on School Mathematics Learning: Primary Students' Inquiry-based Making with 3D Printing Pens. Funded by Research Grant Council (Hong Kong), Early Career Scheme ($499,381 HKD).
2. Principal Investigator (2021-present). Mathematical Problem Solving through Digital Making: Envisioning a Computationally Enhanced Mathematics Curriculum in Hong Kong's Primary and Secondary Schools. Funded by the Research Grants Council (Hong Kong), General Research Fund ($638,908 HKD). 

Selected Publications

1. Ng, O., & Sinclair, N. (2018). Drawing in space: Doing mathematics with 3D pens. In L. Ball, P. Drijvers, S. Ladel, H.-S. Siller, M. Tabach, C. Vale (Eds.). Uses of Technology in Primary and Secondary Mathematics Education (pp. 301-313). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-76575-4_16
2. Ng, O. (2018). Supporting the development of bilingual learners' mathematical discourse through dynamic, touchscreen technology. In T. Bartell (Ed). Toward equity and social justice in mathematics education (pp. 173-189). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-92907-1_11

1. Ng, O., & Park, M. (in press). Using videos to support STEM teachers' professional development in technology-based instruction. Journal of Educational Technology and Society, 24(4).
2. Ng, O., Ni, Y., Lian, S., Chen, G., & Cui, Z. (2021). Designing and validating a coding scheme for analysis of teacher discourse behaviours in mathematics classrooms. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1896340
3. Ng, O., & Tsang, W. K. (2021). Constructionist learning in school mathematics: Implications for education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. ECNU Review of Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120978414
4. Cui, Z., & Ng, O. (2021). The interplay between mathematical and computational thinking in primary students’ mathematical problem-solving within a programming environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120979930
5. Ng, O., & Chan, T. (2021). In-service mathematics teachers’ video-based noticing of 3D Printing Pens ‘in action’. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(2), 751-767. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13053
6. Ng, O. (2020). How ‘tall’ is the triangle? Constructionist learning of shape and space with 3D Pens. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2020.1844910
7. Ng, O., Cui, Z. (2020). Examining primary students’ mathematical problem-solving in a programming context: Toward a computationally enhanced mathematics education. ZDM Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-020-01200-7
8. Ng, O., Shi, L., & Ting, F. (2020). Exploring Differences in Primary Students' Geometry Learning Outcomes in Two Technology-enhanced Environments: Dynamic Geometry and 3D Printing. International Journal of STEM Education, 7, 1-13. doi: 10.1186/s40594-020-00244-1
9. Ng, O., Tsang, W. K., Tsoi, C. K., Ng, W. H., Cheng, P. K. (2020). Teaching secondary mathematics students about climate change: Towards an environmentally conscious mathematics education. EduMath, 42, 82-91.
10. Ng, O., Cheng, W.K., Ni, Y., & Shi, L. (2020). How linguistic features and patterns of discourse moves influence authority structures in mathematics classrooms. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. doi: 10.1007/s10857-020-09475-z
11. Ng, O., Ting, F., Lam, W.H., Liu, M. (2020). Active learning in undergraduate mathematics tutorials via cooperative problem-based learning and peer assessment with interactive online whiteboards. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 29, 285–294. doi: 10.1007/s40299-019-00481-1
12. Ng, O., & Ferrara, F. (2020). Towards a materialist vision of 'learning as Making': The case of 3D Printing Pens in school mathematics. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 18, 925–944. doi: 10.1007/s10763-019-10000-9
13. Ng, O. (2019). Examining technology-mediated communication using a commognitive lens: The case of touchscreen-dragging in dynamic geometry environments. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(6), 1173-1193. doi: 10.1007/s10763-018-9910-2
14. Ng, O., & Chan, T. (2019). Learning as Making: Using 3D computer-aided design to enhance the learning of shapes and space in STEM-integrated ways. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 294-308. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12643
15. Ng, O., Sinclair, N., & Davis, B. (2018). Drawing off the page: How new 3D technologies provide insight into cognitive and pedagogical assumptions about mathematics. The Mathematics Enthusiast, 15(3), 563-578.
16. Ng, O. (2017). Exploring the use of 3D computer-aided design and 3D printing for STEAM learning in mathematics. Digital Experience in Mathematics Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s40751-017-0036-x.
17. Ni, Y., Ho, G., Cai, J., Cheung, A., Chen, G., & Ng, O. (2017). Research Protocol: Teacher Interventions in Engaging Students with Dialogic Classroom Discourse for Rich Learning Opportunity in Mathematics Classrooms. International Journal of Educational Research, 86, 23-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2017.08.008
18. Chorney, S., Ng, O., & Pimm, D. (2016). A tale of two more metaphors: Storylines about mathematics education in Canadian national media. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 16(4), 402-418. doi: 10.1080/14926156.2016.1235746.
19. Ng, O. (2016). Comparing calculus communication across static and dynamic environments using a multimodal approach. Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education, 2(2), 115-141. doi: 10.1007/s40751-016-0014-8.
20. Ng, O., & Hare, A. (2015). 'Looking back, looking forward': The past 15 years of mathematics education in CJSMTE. The Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, 15(4), 387-397. doi: 10.1080/14926156.2015.1091900
21. Ng, O. (2015). The interplay between language, gestures, dragging, and diagrams in bilingual learners' mathematical communications. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 91(3), 307-326. doi: 10.1007/s10649-015-9652-9
22. Ng, O., & Sinclair, N. (2015). Young children reasoning about symmetry in a dynamic geometry environment. ZDM: The International Journal of Mathematics Education, 47(3), 421-434. doi: 10.1007/s11858-014-0660-5.
23. Ng, O., & Sinclair, N. (2015). 'Area without numbers': Using touchscreen dynamic geometry to reason about shape. The Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, 15 (1), 84-101. doi: 10.1080/14926156.2014.993048.

1. Brown, J., Coles, A., Helliwell, T., Le Roux, K., Mellone, M., Ng, O., Solares, A. (2020, July). Innovating the mathematics curriculum in times of change: Towards local and global relevance. Working group paper presented at the 2020 Virtual Meeting of the IGPME.
2. Ng, O. (2019, December). Developing computational thinking and mathematical problem solving through digital Making. Paper presented at the International Conference on Advances in STEM Education 2019. Hong Kong.
3. Ng, O. (2019, November). Supporting teacher education with video-based noticing: A technological innovation. Paper presented at the Asian Conference on Education 2019. Tokyo, Japan.
4. Ng, O. & Ni, Y. (2019). The relationship between discourse moves and authority structures in mathematics classrooms. In M. Graven, H. Venkat, A. Essien & P. Vale (Eds.) Proceedings of the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 4, p.169). Pretoria, South Africa: PME
5. Ng, O. (2019). Hands-on Making: Doing STEM in Mathematics Classrooms. In K.L. Wong, Y.L. Li, K.W. Yau., & K.W. Wong (Eds.). Proceedings of the Hong Kong Mathematics Education Conference (pp.108-121). HKAME: Hong Kong
6. Ng, O. (2018). In-service mathematics teachers' video-based noticing of technology integration. In E. Bergqvist, M. Österholm, C. Granberg, & L. Sumpter (Eds.). Proceedings of the 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 5, p. 118). Umeå, Sweden: PME
7. Ting, F., Ng, O., & Lam, C. (2018). Active learning in an undergraduate calculus class using interactive online whiteboards. Proceedings of the 8th ICMI-East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (p.165). Taipei, Taiwan.
8. Wong, W., & Ng, O. (2018). Learning algebraic expressions through rich tasks with learners' generated examples. Proceedings of the 8th ICMI-East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (p.164). Taipei, Taiwan.
9. Ho, C.O., Ng, O. (2017). Investigating secondary students' concept images on division algorithm and relation between these concept images to early learning experience. Proceedings of the 41st Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol 2 (p.67). PME: Singapore.
10. Ng, O., & Chan, T.H. (2017). Visualizing 3D solids with 3D printing technology. Proceedings of the 41st Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol 2 (p.30). PME: Singapore.
11. Ng, O. (2017). A non-deficit view for studying bilingual learners engaging in mathematical activities with touchscreen technology. Annual AERA Conference 2017: Annual Meeting Paper. AREA Online Paper Depository: AERA.
12. Ng, O., & Sinclair, N. (2016, July). Drawing in space: Doing mathematics with 3D pens. Paper presented at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education. Hamburg, Germany.
13. Ng, O. (2015). Saming, reification and encapsulation in dynamic calculus environment. In N., Amado, & S. Carreira (Eds.). Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching (pp.473-481). University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
14. Ng, O. (2015). Bilinguals' non-linguistic communication: Gestures and touchscreen dragging in calculus. In T.G. Bartell, K.N. Bieda, R.T. Putnam, K. Bradfield, & H. Dominguez, H. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 37th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, pp.526-533. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
15. Ng, O., & Ferrara, F. (2015). A materialist conception of early algebraic thinking. In X. Sun, B. Kaur, J. Novotna (Eds.), Proceedings of International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) Study 23 (pp.550-558). Macau SAR, China.
16. Ng, O., & Ferrara, F. (2014). Mathematical activities in a social learning framework: How multimodality works in a community of practice. In P. Liljedahl, C. Nicol, S. Oesterle, & D. Allan (Eds.). Proceedings of the Joint Conference of PME 38 and PMENA 36 (Vol. 3, pp.65-72). Vancouver, Canada: PME.
17. Ng, O. (2014). The interplay between language, gestures, dragging, and diagrams in bilingual learners' mathematical communications. In P. Liljedahl, C. Nicol, S. Oesterle, & D. Allan (Eds.). Proceedings of the Joint Conference of PME 38 and PMENA 36 (Vol. 4, pp.289-296). Vancouver, Canada: PME.
18. Ng, O. (2014). 'They are getting married!' Towards a dynamic, functional understanding of symmetry in primary school. In P. Liljedahl, C. Nicol, S. Oesterle, & D. Allan (Eds.). Proceedings of the Joint Conference of PME 38 and PMENA 36 (Vol. 1, pp.197-198). Vancouver, Canada: PME.
19. Ng, O., & Sinclair, N. (2013). Gestures and temporality: Children's use of gestures on spatial transformation tasks. In A.M. Lindmeier, & A. Heinze. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 37th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 3, pp. 361-368). Kiel, Germany: PME