Study at York
Dr David Elliott-Button: Associate Lecturer, Mathematics and Study Skills
Area(s) of Responsibility:
I am an Associate Lecturer at the International Pathway College, where I am a part of the mathematics team. I have several different roles but, essentially, I support and teach students across our mathematics modules, in addition to creating learning resources, designing courses, and developing assessment materials.
Our students come to us from all parts of the world, bringing with them different backgrounds, experiences, and levels of knowledge, all on top of the normal challenges that new university students must face. My main role, therefore, is that of maths support: I identify students who have a gap in their mathematical skills, then work with them, individually, in small groups, and asynchronously to help them close those gaps.
I have taught students on our Statistics course, but I mainly teach on our Advanced Mathematics module. Finally, I am a Module Leader and am currently responsible for our Mathematics for Computing module, which is part of our International Year One for Computer Science programme.
Professional Interests:
As both a mathematician and a qualified teacher, I am primarily interested in mathematics and how people learn. I am constantly seeking to improve my own learning of mathematics and my skills as a teacher, utilising modelling, cognitive science, and technology to enhance the student learning experience.
I am increasingly passionate about the science of learning and am keen to explore avenues like games and online interactivity to take this further. I am also very interested and invested in college life.
Further Information:
I hold a MMath (Hons) (Master of Mathematics with Honours) degree and a PhD in Pure Mathematics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and a PGCE in Secondary Education from the University of Sunderland.
After completing my doctorate in 2012 I trained to become a secondary mathematics teacher, then taught for ten years across two schools before moving to the University of York and the IPC. I have taught from Year 7 up to GCSE in addition to A-Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics and have had responsibility for managing and designing programmes for the latter two.
