Taro Fujita

Dr Taro Fujita

Job title: Lecturer in Primary Education (Mathematics), School of Education (Faculty of Health, Education and Society)
Email: taro.fujita@plymouth.ac.uk

Qualifications & background
Educational Background

2004 Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Glasgow, UK
2003 Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics Education), University of Southampton, UK
1999 Master's degree in Mathematics education, Kumamoto University, Japan
1995 Bachelors degree in primary education and secondary education in mathematics, Kumamoto University, Japan

Employment History
2002 - 2006 Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow, UK

Research interests
Research interests
The teaching and Learning of geometry in primary and secondary schools
The history of mathematics education in the early 20th Century
Mathematics education as design science

Grants & contracts

Title: The development of an English and Japanese language web-based learning environment to support students' understanding of proof in mathematics

Funding body: Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Amount of funding: 2009-10, 9600 pounds.

Project partner: Shinshu University, Japan

Title: The Research of Theory and Practice of "holistic" Mathematics Education Researcher: Kunimoto, K. (Project leader, Kochi university, Japan), Yamamoto, S. (Kumamoto university, Japan) and Fujita, T. (Glasgow University, UK)
Funding body: Scientific research and development expenditure, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)
Amount of funding: 2003-4, 3500 pounds; 2004-5, 5000 pounds; 2005-6, 3500 pounds

Title: Mathematics Education in Scotland
Researcher: Fujita, T. (Glasgow University, UK)
Funding body: Scientific research and development expenditure, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan) (in Japanese).
Amount of funding: 2004, 450 pounds

Publications

Recent publications
Fujita, T.: 2012. Book review: Reimagining Japanese education: borders, transfers, circulations, and the comparative. Journal of Education for Teaching, Vol. 38(1), pp. 107-9.
Fujita, T.: 2012. Learners' level of understanding ofthe inclusion relations of quadrilaterals and prototype phenomenon. Journalof Mathematical Behavior, Vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 60-72.
Fujita,T. and Yamamoto, S.: 2011, The development of children’sunderstanding of mathematical patterns through mathematical activities, Researchin Mathematics Education, Vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 249-267.
Fujita, T. and Jones, K.: 2011, The Process of Re-designingthe Geometry Curriculum: the case of the Math Assoc in England in Early XXCentury, International Journal for the History of Mathematics Education,Vol. 6 no. 1, pp. 1-23.
Fujita, T.: 2007, Current mathematics education in the UK:Trends following the introduction of the Primary Framework for teachingmathematics from reception to year 6 in 1999, Japan Society of MathematicalEducation, Journal of Japan Society of Mathematical Education, Vol.89(11), pp. 32-39 (in Japanese)
Fujita, T. and Jones, K.: 2007, Learners' understanding of the definitions and hierarchical classification of quadrilaterals: Towards a theoretical framing, Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 9(1&2), pp. 3-20.
Yamamoto, S. and Fujita, T.: 2006, A brief history of theteaching of geometry in Japan. Paedagogica Historica Vol. 42 (4&5), Taylor and Francis, pp. 541-5.
Fujita, T. and Miura, Y.: 2006, Number pyramid in a Japaneseclassroom, Mathematics Teaching 194, ATM, pp. 40-3.
Fujita, T. and Jones, K.: 2003, The place of experimentaltasks in geometry teaching: Learning from the textbooks design of the early20th Century, Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 5(1&2),pp. 47-62.
Fujita, T.: 2001, The Order of Theorems in the Teaching ofEuclidean Geometry: Learning from developments in textbooks in the early 20thCentury, International Reviews on Mathematical Education (ZDM), 33(6),196-203.

Conference presentations
Jones, K., Fujita, T., & Kunimune,S.: 2012. Representations and reasoning in 3-D geometry in lower secondary school. In T-Y Tso (Ed.), Proc. 36^thConf. of the Int. Group for thePsychology of Mathematics Education. Taipei, Taiwan.
Fujita, T., Jones, K.and Miyazaki, M.: 2011. Supporting students to overcome circular arguments insecondary school mathematics: the use of the flowchart proof learning platform.Proceedings of the 35th Conference of the International Group for thePsychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 2, pp. 353-360. Ankara, Turkey:PME.
Miyazaki, M., Fujita,T. and Jones, K.: 2011, Secondary school mathematics learners constructing geometric flow-chart proofs with a web-based learning supportsystem. Paper presented at ICTMT10 conference. Portsmouth, UK, July 2011.
Fujita,T. Jones, K.,Kunimune, S., Kumakura, H. and Matsumoto, S.: 2011, Refutations inlower secondary school geometry. Paper presented at 7th Congress of the EuropeanSociety for Research in Mathematics Education, University of Rzeszów, Poland,February, 2011.
Chino,K., Fujita, T.,Komatsu, K., Makino, T., Miyakawa, T., Miyazaki, M., Mizutani,N., Nakagawa, H.,Otsuka, S. & Tsujiyama, Y.: 2010, An assessment framework for students’abilities/competencies in proving. Proceedings of the 5th East Asia RegionalConference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME5) (Vol. 2,pp.416-423).
Miyazaki,M. & Fujita,T.: 2010. Students’ understanding of the structure of proof: Why do studentsaccept a proof with logical circularity? In Y.Shimizu, Y. Sekiguchi, and K.Hino (Eds), Proceedings of EARCOME5.Tokyo, Japan, 172-179.
Fujita, T.,Jones, K.& Kunimune, S.: 2010, Students’ geometricalconstructions and provingactivities: a case of cognitive unity? Proceedingsof PME34.BeloHorizonte, Brazil. Vol 3, pp 9-16.
Kunimune,S.,Kumakura, H., Jones, K. and Fujita, T.: 2009, Lower secondary school students’understanding of algebraic proof, In Tzekaki, M.,Kaldrimidou, M.&Sakonidis, C. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 33rdConference of the InternationalGroup for the Psychology of Mathematics Education,. Thessaloniki,Greece:PME, July, 2009.
Kunimune,S., Fujita,T. & Jones, K., 2009: “Why do we have to prove this?” Fostering students’understanding of ‘proof’ in geometry in lower secondary school. Lin,F-L, Hsieh,F-J., Hanna, G. and de Villers, M. (eds.), Proof and proving in mathematicseducation ICMI study 19 conference proceeding, Vol. 1, pp.256-261.  
Kunimune, S., Fujita,T., and Jones, K., 2009: Students’ understanding of ‘proof’ in geometry inlower secondary school, Paper presented at CERME6, 28 Janurary-1February, Lyon, France.
Fujita, T. and Jones,K.: 2008, The Process of Re-designing the Geometry Curriculum: the case of theMath Assoc in England in Early XX Century, Paper presented at TSG38 inInternational Congress on Mathematics Education,5-13, July, Monterrey inMexico.
Fujita, T. and Yamamoto,S.: 2008, Children's activities with Substantial Learning Environments, Paperpresented at TSG2 in International Congress on Mathematics Education, 5-13,July, Monterrey in Mexico.
Okazaki, M. andFujita, T.: 2007, Prototype phenomena and common cognitive paths in theunderstanding of the inclusion relations between quadrilaterals in Japan andScotland, Proceedings of the 31st Conference of the International Group forthe Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol.4, pp. 41-8, South Korea, July2007.
Fujita, T. and Jones,K.: 2006, Primary Trainee teachers’ understanding of basic geometrical figuresin Scotland, Proceedings of the 30th Conference of the International Groupfor the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 3, pp. 129-36. 14-21July, Prague.
Jones, K., Fujita, T.& Ding, L.: 2006, Informing the pedagogy for geometry: learning fromteaching approaches in China and Japan, Proceedings of the British Societyfor Research into Learning Mathematics, 26(2), pp.109-14, University ofBristol, June 2006.
Fujita T. and Jones,K.: 2006, Primary trainee teachers’ knowledge of parallelograms, Proceedingsof the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, 26(2), pp.25-30, University of Bristol, June 2006.
Fujita, T., Jones, K.and Yamamoto, S.: 2004, The role of intuition in the learning and teaching ofgeometry. Topic Study Group on the teaching of geometry at the 10thInternational Congress on Mathematical Education, Copenhagen, Denmark,4-11, July.
Fujita, T. and Jones,K.: 2003, Interpretations of national curricula: The case of geometry in Japanand the UK, British Educational Research Association 2003 Annual Conference,Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh,11-13 September 2003.
Fujita, T. and Jones,K.: 2003, Critical review of geometry in current textbooks in lower secondaryschools in Japan and the UK. Proceedings of the27th Conference of theInternational Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 1, p.220, Honolulu, Hawaii, July, 2003.
Fujita, T. and Jones,K.: 2002,The Bridge between Practical and Deductive Geometry: developing the ‘geometricaleye’. Proceedings of the 26th Conference of the International Group for thePsychology of Mathematics Education, Vol 2, 384-391, UEA, Norwich, UK, July2002.

Other academic activities
Editorial Assistant International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education
http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/research/mathematics_education/field%20of%20work/IJTME/index.htm