STAFF PROFILE
Dr Rebecca Seah
Rebecca is a Mathematics Education lecturer in RMIT's School of Education.
Rebecca has extensive teaching experience in the field of mathematics and special education. At Griffith University (Gold Coast and Mt Gravatt Campus), she taught geometry, measurement, probability and statistics in the undergraduate program. She also supervised a fourth-year course on diagnosis and intervention for mathematics difficulties/disabilities. At University of Southern Queensland, she conducted face-to-face and online numeracy courses for students enrolling in a teaching degree.
Prior to joining higher education, she worked in a variety of educational settings including special schools, early intervention programs for children with autism, early childhood education, and a training workshop for people with special needs. She also worked in an inclusive setting at the high-school level in Brisbane for seven years where she developed and taught an integrated curriculum (English, History, Mathematics, Science) for the middle school with a team of teachers. She served as Acting Head of Special Education Services in 2009. She then pursued a doctorate study where she investigated teacher professional knowledge and teaching mathematics to students with learning difficulties and disabilities.
Rebecca was part of the research team in Reframing Mathematical Futures II: Building a Learning and Teaching Resource to Enhance Mathematical Reasoning in Years 7 to 10, an Australian Mathematics and Science Partnership Program (AMSPP) Competitive Grant Project (2014–2018). Her role is to investigate and develop tasks that promote geometric reasoning among teachers and students of Year 7 to 10. In 2016, her work in the area of spatial and geometric reasoning was recognised and she was awarded the Research Impact Award by RMIT University. Together with her team, she was further awarded the Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award by the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia in 2018.
- 2013: Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University, Australia
- 2005: Master of Education Studies, Griffith University, Australia
- 2003: Bachelor of Education (Special Education), Griffith University
- 1998: Advanced Diploma in Child Development, University of London, Institute of Education, United Kingdom.
- 1994: Diploma in Education of Students with Special Teaching Needs, Christchurch College of Education, New Zealand
Awards
- 2018 Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award
- 2016 RMIT Research Impact Award, Early Career Researcher (Enterprise)
- 2011: Australian Postgraduate Award
- 2009: Queensland State Disability Achievement Award
Reviewer for Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Mathematics Education Research Journal, and Australian Mathematics Education Journal
Professional memberships
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia
Mathematics Associations of Victoria
Queensland College of Teachers
Golden Key International Honour Society
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2022). Solving Multistep Problems: What Will It Take? In: Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Launceston, Australia, 03/07/2022-07/07/2022
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2021). Charting a learning progression for reasoning about angle situations In: Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA 2021), Singapore, 5-8 July 2021
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2021). Developing reasoning within a geometric learning progression: Implications for curriculum development and classroom practices In: Australian Journal of Education, 65, 248 - 264
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2021). How much do they know about 3D objects. Using authentic assessment to inform teaching practice In: Authentic Assessment and Evaluation Approaches and Practices in a Digital Era, Brill, Leiden, Netherlands
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2020). The influence of spatial reasoning on analysing about measurement situations In: Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32, 365 - 386
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2020). The construction and validation of a geometric reasoning test item to support the development of learning progression In: Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32, 607 - 628
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2019). A learning progression for geometric reasoning In: Researching and using progressions (trajectories) in mathematics education, Brill Sense Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Seah, R.,Beencke, A. (2019). Developing critical thinking in the primary years In: Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 24, 3 - 7
- Seah, R.,Horne, M. (2019). An exploratory study on students’ reasoning about symmetry In: Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA 2019), Perth, Western Australia, 29 June - 4 July 2019
- Horne, M.,Seah, R. (2019). A step in the development of an evidence based learning progression for geometric reasoning: focus on shape and angle In: Proceedings of the 11th Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME11), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 5-10 February 2019
2 PhD Completions and 1 Masters by Research Completions3 PhD Current Supervisions and 1 Masters by Research Current Supervisions
- Moving a sedentary generation: comparing implementation approaches at scale to increase child and youth physical activity (Administered by Deakin University). Funded by: NHMRC - Investigator Grants from (2020 to 2023)
- Reframing Mathematical Futures: Buiding a learning and teaching resource to enhance mathematical reasoning in Years 7 to 10. Funded by: Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education Contract from (2014 to 2018)