Queen's University Belfast

Cantley, Ian

Full time student

Year of Entry: 2010

Thesis Title: Non-separability in intentional predicates: a radical reconceptualisation of teaching, learning and assessment

Summary of Research: This research aims to solve three fundamental problems in education/psychology: a fundamental problem in assessment (the problem of latent variable modelling, which treats psychological measurement as a process for checking up on some previously-existing mental attribute), one in learning (Meno’s paradox) and one in teaching (the debate concerning progressive versus traditional teaching strategies).

The problems will be solved by replacing the Kantian/Newtonian model of intentional predicates (thinking, remembering, learning, understanding, believing, meaning, and so on), which treats subject and object as separable, by the quantum theoretical non-separability. The conceptual approach adopted in this research will address a lacuna in the philosophical writings of the quantum pioneer, Niels Bohr, who argued repeatedly that quantum theory can be used to illuminate fundamental problems involving psychological predicates.

Boorsboom, Mellenbergh and van Heerden (2003) paint a bleak picture of the theoretical status of modern test theory models which draw on latent traits and Michell (1997) describes psychological measurement as being in the grip of a methodological thought disorder, portraying psychometrics as a pretence at science. This research, by relaxing the strict separability of subject and object in intentional predicates, aims to formulate a new model of measurement that has none of the problems which afflict the two extreme positions: (i) measurement is simply any precisely specified operation that yields a number, and (ii) measurement in psychology is impossible. The new measurement paradigm will also be applied to learning and teaching, with the aim of offering a radical re-conceptualisation of these two vital facets of education.

Personal Statement: I possess a first class honours degree in Mathematics, a PGCE in secondary Mathematics and I’m a member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

I have 15 years’ experience of teaching Mathematics in grammar schools, most recently as Head of the Mathematics department at Wellington College Belfast.

Research Cluster: Pedagogy, Learning and Curriculum

Supervisor: