Heather McMaster

Heather McMaster is a faculty member at the University of Sydney where she teaches primary mathematics education to pre-service teachers. She leads research on measurement concept development, mathematics-science integration, and leadership pathways for primary mathematics specialists.

Education & Affiliations:

• University of Sydney, Education Building (current academic post)
• Member: Mathematics Research Group of Australasia, Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, Mathematics Association of NSW

Research Interests:

McMaster investigates how primary children and pre-service teachers understand measurement concepts such as volume, capacity, mass and density, and how these concepts intersect across mathematics and science curricula. A second strand explores the motivation and identity of undergraduates who specialise in mathematics leadership, aiming to create effective teacher-education pathways that respond to government initiatives for primary mathematics specialisation.

Recent Publication Trends (2021-2024):

Her latest outputs focus on designing undergraduate primary mathematics specialisations, integrating measurement of matter into national numeracy progressions, and examining pre-service teachers’ emotional highs and lows in forming mathematics-related identities. Collectively the works advocate curriculum coherence between mathematics and science and emphasise rich, problem-based learning tasks.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• 2012 – Faculty of Education and Social Work Excellence in Teaching Award
• 2016 – Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching (Primary Mathematics team)

Supervision & Grants:

Since 2017 she has supervised nine honours/master projects on topics ranging from rural parent facilitation of mathematics to children’s conceptions of density, mass and volume. She currently leads two projects: “Leadership in Mathematics Education” (investigating school needs and student aspirations for maths leadership) and “Measuring Stuff” (evaluating syllabus language and interdisciplinary connections between volume, capacity and mass).

Laboratories & Teams:

McMaster collaborates within the Primary Mathematics Specialist Team at Sydney and is a chief investigator in the university’s current “Measuring Stuff” and “Leadership in Mathematics Education” projects, working closely with colleagues Prof Janette Bobis and Assoc. Prof Jenny Way.