Plenaries

    Prof. Dr. James Russo

The first plenary speaker is Professor Dr. James Russo. James Russo is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Monash University, Australia. His research focuses on how the design and sequencing of mathematical tasks, particularly games, challenging tasks, and narrative-rich problems, can make mathematics more engaging, inclusive, and conceptually rich.

James currently co-leads a large international study examining how teachers use mathematical games across eight countries, providing comparative insights into how games are employed to promote reasoning, fluency, and mathematical discourse. His recent paper, What’s in a Name? Should We Be Calling It a Game? (MTED, 2025), proposes a typology for classifying game-based activities and articulates principles of “instructionally rich” games that integrate mathematical representations, strategic agency, and opportunities for reflection.

He is leading a forthcoming Special Issue of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development titled Teaching with Mathematical Games: Exploring Practices, Perspectives, and Possibilities, which foregrounds teachers’ decision-making and classroom enactment of mathematical games (Call for Abstracts link).

James also shares a wide range of classroom-ready mathematical games and teacher resources through his website SurfMaths. Through his research and professional learning partnerships, he seeks to support teachers to create mathematics classrooms where challenge, enjoyment, and meaningful learning coexist.

Prof. Dr. Camilla Björklund

Camilla Björklund is Professor of Education at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. She has expertise in research on the learning and teaching of mathematics in early childhood education, specialising in early numerical development and play-oriented pedagogy. Björklund has been primary investigator for many projects in research-practice-partnerships covering mathematics education in preschool, primary school and upper secondary school, integration of natural science, arts and mathematics in early childhood education, and professional development and teacher education. 

Dr. Martijn Koops

Dr. Martijn Koops is a researcher, lecturer and game designer at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. With a PhD in physics and decades of experience in serious gaming, he explores how games can be used as powerful tools for learning, communication, and reflection. He is the author of several books on game-based learning (“gamedidactiek”), integrates games and gamification throughout his teaching in higher education, and designs games for diverse contexts. Martijn is a Senior Fellow of the Comenius Network and organiser of the annual Gamedidactiek Conference.

Dr. Albrecht Beutelspacher

Albrecht Beutelspacher was a professor of mathematics at the University of Gießen for 30 years, where he was particularly involved in teacher education. He became known for his diverse activities aimed at bringing mathematics to a wider audience. These included lectures, books, radio and television programmes and, above all, the founding of the Mathematikum in Gießen, the world's first interactive mathematics museum. The approximately 200 experiments attract over 100,000 visitors annually, mainly school classes and families.