Tom Lowrie

Biography

Tom was appointed as one of the University's Centenary Professors in 2014. His previous positions included working as a primary school classroom teacher, teaching mathematics education and research method courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students and working with classroom teachers on curriculum frameworks. Previous administrative positions include being a Head of School, Head of Campus and Research Director of a multidisciplinary research institute. Tom has an established international research profile in the discipline area of mathematics education. His concentrated and sustained (over almost 20 years) body of work has focused on the extent to which primary-aged students use spatial reasoning and visual imagery to solve mathematics problems and the role and nature of graphics in mathematics assessment. More recently, his research has expanded to include students' use of digital tools and dynamic imagery to solve problems. In the past 10 years, Tom has attracted over $5 million in nationally competitive research projects, including five ARC Discovery grants and one Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Government Partnerships for Development grant. He works closely with industry partners including the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the World Bank, The Pearson Foundation and a number of education jurisdictions.

Research Interest

Mathematics education Visual reasoning and spatial ability Information graphics and dynamic imagery