Brent Davis

Brent Davis

Positions

Professor

Werklund School of Education, Specialization, Learning Sciences

Contact information

Email

abdavi@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Discourses on Learning in Education

Math Minds

Phone number

Office: 403.220.7127

Location

Office: EDT844

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy Education, University of Alberta, 1994

M.Ed. Education, University of Alberta, 1990

Bach of Education Education, University of Alberta, 1984

Biography

Brent Davis was born and raised in northern Alberta, where he also taught secondary school mathematics and science through most of the 1980s. Upon completion of graduate studies in the mid-90s, he began his university career at UBC, then moved to York University, then the University of Alberta (where he was Canada Research Chair in Mathematics Education and the Ecology of Learning), then back to UBC (as David Robitaille Chair in Mathematics Education), and finally to the University of Calgary (as Distinguished Research Chair in Mathematics Education). He currently holds a Werklund Research Professorship.

Research

Areas of Research

Scholarly Activity

Brent Davis’s research is focused on the educational relevance of recent developments in the cognitive and complexity sciences. He has published books and articles in the areas of mathematics learning and teaching, curriculum theory, teacher education, epistemology, and action research. The principal foci of his research are teachers’ disciplinary knowledge of mathematics and the sorts of structures and experiences that might support mathematics learning among teachers. He has authored or co-authored five books and his scholarly writings have appeared in Science, Harvard Educational Review, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, and other leading journals.

Interests:
  • Mathematics education
  • Mathematics teachers' disciplinary knowledge
  • Teacher education
  • Complexity research in education
  • Cognitive science
  • Curriculum theory and design

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
EDER 689.82 Learning Mathematics: Current Perspectives Summer 2023
EDER 689.83 Teaching Mathematics Fall 2023

Projects

Current:
  • Transforming Mathematical Identities: The Potential for Collective Learning to Create Free Spaces for Mathematics (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Jo Towers, PI)
  • Using Emergent Technologies to Develop Mathematical Objects- and Actions to Think With (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Co-Researchers: Krista Francis, UCalgary; Nathalie Sinclair, SFY; Cathy Bruce, TrentU)
  • Math Minds (funded by TD Ready Challenge; previously funded by the Suncor Energy Foundation and Canadian Oil Sands)

Publications

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