Hugh Burkhardt

Hugh Burkhardt (4 April 1935 – 3 February 2024) was a British theoretical physicist and educational designer. He was Director of The Shell Centre for Mathematical Education at the University of Nottingham, UK from 1976 to 1992 and is the creator of ISDDE, the International Society for Design and Development in Education.

Life and career

Burkhardt had a bachelor's degree in Theoretical Physics from the University of Oxford, and PhD in Mathematical Physics from the University of Birmingham. He joined the Shell Centre in Nottingham in 1976 as Director and Professor of Mathematical Education, serving until 1992. Since then he has led a series of international education design projects including Balanced Assessment and MARS (the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service)[1] in the US, with visiting appointments at UC Berkeley and at Michigan State University. He is Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Education at the University of Nottingham.[2] In 2005 Burkhardt recognised a need for an international organisation which focused on the design and development process that is used to produce educational materials, and so set up ISDDE.[citation needed]

Burkhardt died on 3 February 2024, at the age of 88.[3][4]

Publications

Burkhardt published articles, papers and book chapters on mathematics education, in particular mathematical modelling,[5] educational design (what Burkhardt terms "engineering research")[6] and education policy.[7]

Awards

Burkhardt, along with colleague at the Shell Centre Malcolm Swan, were the first recipients of the Emma Castelnuovo Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education, awarded by the International Commission on Mathematical instruction (ICMI).[8] In 2013 he won the ISDDE Prize for Excellence in Educational Design (affectionately known as the Eddie) for 'his leadership of the Shell Centre for Mathematical Education, his contributions to a large number of its influential products, and the development of its engineering research methodology.'[9]

References

  1. ^ "About the Math Assessment Project". www.map.mathshell.org. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Hugh Burkhardt". The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  3. ^ Burkhardt, Jan (1 May 2024). "Hugh Burkhardt obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Hugh Burkhardt 1935 – 2024". Mathematical Association. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ^ Burkhardt, Hugh (27 November 2017). "Ways to teach modelling—a 50 year study". ZDM. 50 (1–2): 61-75. doi:10.1007/s11858-017-0899-8.
  6. ^ Burkhardt, Hugh (2 November 2017). "Design and Development for Large-Scale Improvement". Proceedings of the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education. ICME-13 Monographs. pp. 177–200. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-62597-3_12. ISBN 978-3-319-62596-6. S2CID 186662017.
  7. ^ Burkhardt, Hugh (18 June 2013). "Understanding the European policy landscape and its impact on change in mathematics and science pedagogies". ZDM. 45 (6): 851–861. doi:10.1007/s11858-013-0513-7. S2CID 143285411. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. ^ "The 2016 Emma Castelnuovo Award". mathunion.org. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  9. ^ "2013: Hugh Burkhardt – ISDDE". www.isdde.org. Retrieved 21 September 2019.