Ewa Bergqvist

I am a associate professor (Sw: docent) in mathematics education, and my main research interest is the relation between language and mathematics in relation to mathematics teaching and learning, for example, the relation between reading and solving mathematics tasks. In particular, I study the connection between mathematical argumentation and students' understanding of explanations by teachers and in textbooks. For example, the consequences of good and insufficient argumentation are, respectively. I also study students' learning of the symbolic language in mathematics and how students' understanding of mathematical symbols develop over time.

Most of my research is conducted in collaboration with Magnus Österholm and together we lead the research group "Language and communication" within UMERC. We currently work with a large research project (financed by the Swedish Research Council) named "The role of natural language when learning the symbolic language of mathematics", together with Tomas Bergqvist, Bert Jonsson, Lotta Vingsle and Ulrika Wikström Hultdin (all Umeå University). Magnus Österholm and me previously received a grant for another project, namely "Effects on the demand of reading ability when translating mathematical tasks between different languages", from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond in 2013, which I was project leader for. Postdoc Cris Edmonds-Wathen and (then) research student Frithjof Theens also participated in that project. During 2018, I co-chaired the international mathematics education conference PME (www.pme42.se) together with Magnus Österholm, welcoming almost 700 participants to Umeå.

I have a Licenciat degree (a bit more than a Master) in pure mathematics (several complex variables) and a PhD in mathematics education (2006). At the moment I work as a senior lecturer (associate professor, Sw: docent) at the Department of science and mathematics education (http://www.nmd.umu.se/english). I spend most of my time doing research and PhD supervision, but I also teach a bit mathematics education to pre-service teachers, mostly by supervising project theses. At the moment I supervise two phd students: Ulrika Wikström Hultdin at the Department of science and mathematics education, Umeå university, and Cecilie Carlsen Bach, Aarhus University, Denmark. I am a member of the editorial board for the nordic mathematics education research journal NOMAD (http://www.ncm.gu.se/node/492) and the International Journal of Mathematics and Science Education. I also regularly review articles for, for example, NOMAD, Educational Studies in Mathematics (ESM), and Journal for mathematical behavior (JMB).

I am vice head of department for the Department of science and mathematics education.