2026 PRIME at PME-NA
The North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) promotes interdisciplinary research in the psychology of mathematics education to further a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning of mathematics.
Founded as a dedicated international group of researchers and practitioners at 1976’s Third International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-3) in Karlsrühe, Germany, The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME) held its first conference in 1977 in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Held in Evanston, Illinois in 1979, The North American Chapter of PME (PME-NA) started off with its first conference not long after.
PME-NA is hosting the 48th edition of their annual conference PME-NA 2026 in Provo, Utah, at Brigham Young University from October 11th to October 14th.
Several mathematics education researchers from MSU are going to present their work at PME-NA 2026. Of special note this year, Dr. Alden J. Edson will be serving on the Tuesday Afternoon Plenary Panel, titled, “Designing for AI: Rethinking Curriculum Tasks, Tools, and Student Thinking in Mathematics.” Other sessions at which MSU faculty and doctoral students are sharing their research may include theoretical research reports, empirical research reports, poster presentations, research colloquia, and working groups. Here is a summary of the MSU presentations for this year:
C. Davis (PRIME PhD student)
Submission Title #1: Gender and Sexuality Working Group: Challenging the Neutrality Myth in Mathematics
Education
Description: Since 2018, the Gender and Sexuality Working Group has convened annually at PME-NA. The past 2 years, our focus has been on concealable stigmatized identities, culminating in the presentation and exploration of data last year from a study involving pre-service teachers that was conducted by the leadership team. Building on this study’s findings, wherein many pre-service teachers questioned the need to consider gender and sexuality in mathematics teaching and learning, in this year’s working group, we will explore the neutrality myth in mathematics education—that mathematics is unbiased, objective, and value-free—with a focus on gender and sexuality. During the working group sessions, participants will have the opportunity to explore how the neutrality myth impacts mathematics and mathematics education, both in terms of teaching/learning and research, through discussions and hands-on activities.
Submission Title #2: The Perceived Impact of Identity Factors on the Mathematics Experiences of Pre-Service Teachers
Description: The impact of student identity on students’ mathematics learning is well documented in mathematics education research; however, some identity factors remain understudied. We draw on notions of mathematics identity and belonging to study how pre-service teachers perceive four concealable stigmatized identities (gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and mental health) impacted their own mathematical learning experiences and might impact the experiences of their future students. Data were collected through a qualitative questionnaire at universities in Australia, Canada, and the United States and analysis revealed eight major themes. In this paper, we describe four such themes which detail the pre-service teacher’s perceptions that CSIs can impact confidence, opportunity, help-seeking, and motivation.
Dr. AJ Edson (PRIME Faculty)
Submission Title: Design Principles for Classroom Artificial Intelligence to Surface and Support Students'
Proportional Reasoning Over Time
Description: This poster presents design principles for classroom AI that support collaborative, problem-based mathematics learning by making students’ proportional reasoning visible and actionable over time.
** AJ will also serve on the Tuesday Afternoon Plenary Panel presenting, “Designing for AI: Rethinking Curriculum Tasks, Tools, and Student Thinking in Mathematics.”
Dr. Betty Phillips and Yvonne Slanger-Grant (PRIME Faculty)
Submission Title: Design Principles for Classroom Artificial Intelligence to Surface and Support Students' Proportional Reasoning Over Time
Description: This poster presents design principles for classroom AI that support collaborative, problem-based mathematics learning by making students’ proportional reasoning visible and actionable over time.
Be sure to stop by one or more of these sessions to see some of the math ed research at MSU!
