Canada Research Chair in Tangible Mathematics Learning

My primary research interests focus on the consequences of embodied cognition in mathematics thinking and learning. I study the role of the aesthetic in the development of mathematics as a discipline and in the understandings of both research mathematicians and school learners. I also investigate the ways in which digital technologies–and dynamic geometry software in particular–change the way people think, move and feel mathematically.

Visit our PhD in Mathematics Education webpage

I am currently an Associate Editor of For the learning of mathematics as well as the French/Math Editor of the Canadian Journal For Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education. I am on the Journal of Research in Mathematics Education editorial panel.

Email: nathsinc@sfu.ca

• Veda Abu-Bakare
• Sean Chorney
• George Ekol
• Harpreet Kaur
• Oi-Lam Ng
• Kevin Wells
• Leslie Dietiker (PhD at Michigan State University) Mathematics Textbook as a Story: A novel approach to the interrogation of mathematics curriculum (2012)
• Shiva Gol Tabaghi (PhD) Using Dynamic Geometry to Explore Linear Algebra Concepts: the Emergence of Mobile, Visual Thinking (2012)
• Scott Eberle (PhD at University of Texas at Austen) Children’s mathematical understandings of tessellations : a cognitive and aesthetic synthesis (2011)
• Brian Eaton (Masters) How do Interactive White Boards Affect Participation in the Mathematics Classroom? (2011)
• Jennifer Law (Masters) Using Subordination to Teach and Learn Mathematics (2010)

Books

De Freitas, E. and Sinclair, N. (to appear in 2013). Embodiment and Mathematics: Materiality and Virtuality. Cambridge University Press.

Zazkis, R., Sinclair, N., and Liljedahl, P. (2013). Lesson Play in Mathematics Education. Springer.

Sinclair, N., Pimm, D. and Skelin, M. (2012). Developing Essential Understanding of Geometry for Teaching Mathematics in Grades 5–8. Essential Understanding Series. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Sinclair, N., Pimm, D. and Skelin, M. (2012). Developing Essential Understanding of Geometry for Teaching Mathematics in Grades 9–12. Essential Understanding Series. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Sinclair, N., (2008). The history of the geometry curriculum in the United States. IAP – Information Age Publishing Inc. (212 pages).

Sinclair, N. (2006). Mathematics and Beauty: Aesthetics approaches to teaching children. Teachers College Press.

Sinclair, N., Pimm, D. & Higginson, W. (2006). Mathematics and the aesthetic: Modern approaches to an ancient affinity. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Selected Publications

Sinclair, N., de Freitas, E. & Ferrara, F. (2013). Virtual encounters: The murky and furtive world of mathematical inventiveness. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education.

Sinclair, N. and Moss, J. (2012). The more it changes, the more it becomes the same: The development of the routine of shape identification in dynamic geometry environments. International Journal of Education Research, 51&52, 28-44.

de Frietas, E. and Sinclair, N. (2012). Diagram, gesture, agency: Theorizing embodiment in the mathematics classroom. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 80, 133-152.

Sinclair, N., Watson, A., Zazkis, R., and Mason, J. (2011). The structure of personal example spaces. Journal of Mathematical Behaviour, 30, 291-303.

Sinclair, N. and Zazkis, R. (2011). Lesson Play: Learning how to improvise. Ontario Mathematics Gazette, 50(1).

Sinclair, N. (2011). Aesthetic Considerations in Mathematics. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 1(1). [Available: http://journal-of-humanistic-mathematics.org/]

Sinclair, N. and Gol Tabaghi, S. (2010). Drawing space: Mathematicians’ kinetic conceptions of eigenvectors. Education Studies in Mathematics, 74(3), 223-240.

Sinclair, N. and Armstrong, A. (2010). A Geometric Approach to Story Graphs and Piecewise Linear Functions. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. In press.

Son, J. and Sinclair, N. (2010). How preservice teachers interpret and respond to geometric errors. School Science and Mathematics, 110(1), 31-46.Sinclair, N. and Pimm, D. (2009). Audience, Style and Criticism. For the Learning of Mathematics, 29(2), 23-27.

Jackiw, N. and Sinclair, N. (2009). Sounds and pictures: dynamism and dualism in dynamic geometry. ZDM, 41, 413-426.

Kasten, S. and Sinclair, N. (2009). Using Technology in the Mathematics Classroom: How, Why and When Teachers Choose Sketchpad-based Activities International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 16(4), 133-144.

Sinclair, N., Healy, L. and Reis Sales, C. (2009). Time for telling stories: Narrative thinking with Dynamic Geometry. ZDM, 41, 441-452.

Sinclair, N., and Pimm, D. (2009). The many and the few: Mathematics, Democracy and the Aesthetic. Educational Insights, 12(3). Available on-line: http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publications/insights/

Zazkis, R., Liljedahl, P., and Sinclair, N. (2009). Lesson Play: Planning teaching versus teaching planning. For the learning of mathematics, 29(1), 39-46.

Sinclair, N. (2009). The aesthetic as a liberating force in mathematics education. ZDM, 41(1), 45-60.

Sinclair, N. and Yurita, V. (2008). To be or to become: How dynamic geometry changes discourse. Research in Mathematics Education. 10(2), 135-150.

Sinclair, N. (2008). Attending to the aesthetics in the mathematics classroom. For the learning of mathematics, 28(1), 29-35.

Crespo. S. and Sinclair, N. (2008). What Can It Mean to Pose A ‘Good’ Problem? Inviting Prospective Teachers to Pose Better Problems. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(5), 395-415.

Hawkins, A. and Sinclair, N. (2007). Explorations in Topogeometry using Sketchpad. International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning.

Healy, L. & Sinclair, N. (2007). If this is your mathematics, what are your stories? International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning.

Sinclair, N., Zazkis, R. & Liljedahl, P. (2006). A coloured window on pre-service teachers’ conceptions of rational numbers, International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning (to appear).

Sinclair, N. (2006). For the beauty of number theory. In R. Zazkis and S. Campbel (Eds). Number Theory in Mathematics Education: Perspectives and prospects. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

Sinclair, N. and Crespo, S. (2006). Learning mathematics with dynamic computer environments. Teaching Children Mathematics 12(9), 436-444.

Liljedahl, P., Sinclair, N. and Zazkis, R. (2006). Number concepts with Number Worlds: Thickening Understanding. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 37(3) 253-275.

Zazkis, R., Sinclair, N., and Liljedahl, P. (2006). Conjecturing in a computer microworld: Zooming out and zooming in. Focus on Learning Problems in Mathematics (to appear).

Sinclair, N., Zazkis, R. & Liljedahl, P. (2006). A coloured window on pre-service teachers’ conceptions of rational numbers. International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning, 11(2), 177-203.

Sinclair, N. (2005). Chorus, colour, and contrariness in school mathematics. THEN: Journal, 1, Available at http://thenjournal.org/current/.

Sinclair, N. (2004). The roles of the aesthetic in mathematical inquiry, Mathematical Thinking and Learning. 6(3), 261-284.

Sinclair, N., Zazkis, R. & Liljedahl, P. (2004). Number Worlds: Visual and experimental access to elementary number theory concepts, International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning, 8(3), 235-263.

Sinclair, N. (2004). Behold! Rich “demonstration” tasks using Dynamic Geometry.  Mathematick lehren, 126, 59-62.

Sinclair, N. and Schiralli, M. (2003). A constructive response to ‘Where mathematics comes from’, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 52(1), 79-91.

Sinclair, N. (2002). The kissing triangles: The aesthetics of mathematical discovery. International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning, 7(1), 45-63.

Sinclair, N. (2002). Reconstructing a painting with geometry eyes. For the learning of mathematics, 22(3), 19-22.

Sinclair, N. (2002). Le role de l’esthétique dans l’apprentissage mathématique. Instantanés mathématiques, 38(3).

Sinclair, N. and Jackiw, N. (2002). Dragon play: Microworld design in a whole class context. Journal for Educational Research in Computers, 27(1&2), 111-145.

Sinclair, N. and Watson, A. (2001). Wonder, the rainbow and the aesthetics of rare experiences. For the learning of mathematics, 21(3), 39-42.

Sinclair, N. (2001). The aesthetic is relevant. For the learning of mathematics, 21(1), 25-33.

Taylor, P., and Sinclair, N. (2000). Training our students. Canadian Journal of Mathematics and Science Education, 1, 110-116.

Book chapters

Sinclair, N., and Robuti, O. (2012). Technology and the Role of Proof: The Case of Dynamic Geometry. In A. J. Bishop, M. A. Clements, C. Keitel & F. Leung (Eds.), Third international handbook of mathematics education. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Sinclair, N. (2010). Aesthetics as a Liberating Force in Mathematics Education? In M. Pitici (Ed.), The Best Writing on Mathematics: 2010. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Pimm, D. and Sinclair, N. (2010). Audience, Style, and Criticism. In M. Pitici (Ed.), The Best Writing on Mathematics: 2010. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Sinclair, N. (2010). Knowing more than we can tell. In B. Sriraman and L. English (Eds.). Theories of Mathematics Education: Seeking New Frontiers, (pp. 591-608). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Sinclair, N. and Jackiw, N. (2010). Learning through teaching, when teaching machines. In R. Leikin and R. Zazkis (Eds.). Learning Through Teaching.

Zazkis, R., Sinclair, N. and Liljedahl, L. (2009). Lesson Play – A vehicle for multiple shifts of attention in teaching. In S. Lerman and B. Davis (Eds.) Mathematical Action & Structures Of Noticing: Studies inspired by John Mason. Sense Publishers.

Pimm, D. and Sinclair, N. (2009). Cultures of generality and their associated pedagogies. In S. Lerman and B. Davis (Eds.) Mathematical Action & Structures Of Noticing: Studies inspired by John Mason (14 pages). Sense Publishers. (to appear).

Sinclair, N., Arzarello, F., Gaisman, M., Lozano, M. (2009). Implementing Digital Technologies at a national scale. In C. Hoyles and J.B. Lagrange (Eds). The Seventeeth ICMI Study: Technology Revisited. Springer.

Sinclair, N. (2008). A powerful tool for doing and learning mathematics. In M. Carlson and C. Rasmussen (Eds), Making the connection: Research and practice in undergraduate mathematics. Mathematical Association of America.

Sinclair, N. (2007). The teacher as midwife: What can mathematics education research learn from obstetrics? In K. Nolan and E Defrietas (eds), Opening the research text: Critical insights and in(ter)ventions into mathematics education. New York: Springer, to appear.

Sinclair, N. (2005). Mathematics on the Internet. In S. Johnston-Wilder and D. Pimm (Eds.), Teaching Secondary Mathematics effectively with Technology (pp. 203-218). Open University Press.

Sinclair, N. and Jackiw, N. (2005). Understanding and Projecting ICT Trends. In S. Johnston-Wilder and D. Pimm (Eds.), Teaching Secondary Mathematics effectively with Technology (pp. 235-252). Open University Press.

Sinclair, N. (2004). Meet the mathematicians. In L, Burton (Ed.), Mathematicians as enquirers: Learning about learning mathematics. Kluwer Academic Publishers.