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 fostering a gentler, equitable and more expressive mathematics, supporting learners in using, crafting and connecting multiple representations for mathematical concepts and processes.

I am Qualification Lead for the BSc (Honours) Mathematics and its Learning qualification and am part of the module teams for ME620, Mathematical Thinking in Schools, ME321, Learning and Doing Geometry, and MU123, Discovering Mathematics, and also support the OU’s Multiply and Contextualising the Curriculum resources.

Research and practice
My work aims to make mathematics more inclusive and equitable. 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:

• 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 Prof Ricardo Nemirovsky (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Dr Charlotte Mégrourèche (University of Manchester).
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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 for the UK, and led to the 2026 Rapid Review of Data Education within Mathematics 5-16, to help foster a data science rich curriculum in England.
  
  
• Supporting Nursing students with medication calculations – a cross-faculty collaboration to study and support performance of OU 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.