Dr Vinay Kathotia

I joined the Open University in August 2021, having previously worked on various aspects of mathematics and mathematics education in the UK and overseas.

Teaching
I am interested in supporting learners in using, crafting and connecting multiple representations for mathematical concepts and processes.

I am Module Team Chair for ME620, Mathematical Thinking in Schools, Module Team Deputy Chair for ME321, Learning and Doing Geometry, and support MU123, Discovering Mathematics, ME322, Learning and Doing Algebra, and the OU’s Multiply and Contextualising the Curriculum resources.

Research and practice
My work aims to make mathematics more inclusive and to foster a just and equitable world. I am interested in the interplay of mathematics, materiality, craft and technology, to support learners and the wider public in seeing and using mathematics as an empowering and expressive medium. Particular strands of work include:

• Fostering educational and gender equity in rural schools in Rajasthan – building on ideas from Realistic Mathematics Education and learners’ experiences and funds of knowledge, I have been working with Vidya Bhawan Society in India, supporting education in rural state schools via their Shiksha Sambal programme.
  
  
• Crafting mathematics – collaborative studio practice with craftworkers, anthropologists, and mathematicians, exploring continuities between craft and mathematics. Our work questions the traditional ‘silencing aesthetics’ of mathematics, making space for more inclusive approaches. Collaborators include Profs Ricardo Nemirovsky (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Stephanie Bunn (University of St Andrews).
  
  
• Genetics Research Awareness via Community Engagement (GRACE) – developed in collaboration with Dr Kaustubh Adhikari, the GRACE project aims to increase diversity in genomics research and healthcare so that they fairly represent, and benefit, all cross sections of society.
  
  
• Mathematical and Data Literacy – our 2023 report (with Prof Cathy Smith and others) on the intersection of mathematics, computing, statistics, and data science informed the Royal Society’s Mathematical Futures programme, and we are continuing to explore the potential of a data science rich curriculum to rebalance mathematics and statistics education in schools.
  
  
• Supporting nursing students with medication calculations – a cross-faculty collaboration to study and support performance of nursing students on medication calculations.

Engagement
I support and present primary and secondary Royal Institution mathematics masterclasses, run teacher workshops for the Prince’s Teaching Institute, and am an ambassador for MathsWorldUK.