NORMA 2027 — Save the date

About NORMA

The NORMA conferences are organized in collaboration with NoRME— the Nordic Society for Research in Mathematics Education, https://sites.google.com/view/norme/home, NoRME is open for membership from national societies for research in mathematics education in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

The NORMA conferences offer forum for discussions and constructive interactions among researchers, teachers, teacher educators, graduate students and others interested in mathematics education research in the Nordic context. NORMA are small-scale conferences that emphasize interaction between participants and interplay between scientific and social activities. NORMA 27 will have a limit of 380 participants. The conference language is English and all presentations will be in English. The scientific program and the review process are organized and managed by the international program committee (IPC) for NORMA 27.

Tentative agenda of the multi-track conference:

Tuesday, June 8 - Thursday noon, June 11: the main conference
Thursday afternoon, June 11: school visits, social programme (optional)

The conference theme

(No) Tradeoffs Between Human and Machine Intelligence in Mathematics Education

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are rapidly transforming educational ecosystems, reshaping how mathematical knowledge is constructed, communicated, and assessed. From adaptive learning systems and intelligent tutoring to automated feedback and generative models capable of solution synthesis, machine intelligence promises unparalleled affordances for personalization and scalability. At the same time, concerns about algorithmic opacity, epistemic displacement, and unintended impacts on students' conceptual understanding foreground enduring questions about the role of human agency, teacher expertise, and collective mathematical practices (Heffernan & Heffernan, 2014; Holmes, Bialik & Fadel, 2019). The proposed theme invites the Nordic-Baltic mathematics education research community to explore whether and how human and machine intelligence can be mutually reinforcing rather than in tension. Instead of framing the relationship as a zero-sum game where gains in machine support undermine human pedagogical authority or cognitive engagement, this theme foregrounds the interplay and co-construction of competencies, pedagogies, and technologies that honor the distinct yet complementary strengths of shared human-machine cognition, where human is always in the loop as a decision-maker. This dialogue is timely: contemporary research suggests that AI-augmented learning environments can support individualized scaffolding (Spiteri & Dingli, 2025), yet meaningful learning and mathematical agency remain grounded in human interpretation, negotiation, and social reasoning (Noss & Hoyles, 1996; Kirschner et al., 2011).

For NORMA 2027, we define machine intelligence broadly, encompassing not only widely used AI chatbots/LLMs, but also adaptive learning systems involving algorithmically informed analytics, intelligent feedback mechanisms, and data-informed personalisation. Human intelligence encompasses individual and collective sense-making, teacher professional judgment, and culturally situated mathematical practices. The conference invites research that articulates theoretical framings, empirical insights, and design principles that transcend simplistic 'tradeoff' narratives to foreground synergies, tensions, affordances, and constraints in mathematics education in the AI era.

Mathematics education has historically engaged with technological innovations—from calculators and dynamic geometry environments to intelligent tutoring systems—raising persistent questions about what and how students learn. For example, research on computer-based tools underscores the importance of instrumental orchestration and teacher mediation in technology-rich contexts (Drijvers, 2003; Trouche, 2004). As systems become increasingly autonomous and generative, similar questions arise about who holds epistemic authority and how students develop mathematical reasoning rather than algorithmic mimicry (Hod & Karp, 2023). Critical perspectives also highlight ethical and equity considerations in AI deployment (Ee & Choi, 2021), challenging researchers to articulate frameworks that integrate technological innovation with pedagogical integrity.

The overarching ambition of NORMA 2027 is to negotiate an inspiring research agenda that moves beyond simplistic dichotomies between human and machine intelligence in Nordic and Baltic countries. By foregrounding collaboration, criticality, and constructivist sensibilities, this theme invites scholarship that reconceptualizes intelligence in mathematics education as distributed, situated, and co-constructed.

Submissions welcome

Submissions are welcome across a range of methodologies - design research, qualitative studies, large‐scale data analytics, theoretical and conceptual work—that connect to the theme, including but not limited to:

Human–AI co-agency in mathematics education
Studies on assessment, scaffolding and feedback
Studies on collaboration between teacher(s) and researcher(s)
Design-based research projects
The use of particular research-based methods or approaches in teaching
Professional development of pedagogues or teachers in small or large scale projects or other interventions studies
Classroom observation studies
The theory - practice interplay in teacher education
Research-based curriculum design
Theoretical studies on the theme of the conference

Publication formats: NORMA 27 welcomes poster and workshop proposals, short and full papers presenting original research reports. The selected full papers accepted to NORMA 27 will be published in a volume of XXX (indexed in Scopus).

Important dates: The submission process for NORMA 27 will open on 1st of November 2026 on the current web page. Early bird registration will be available until 30th of April 2027 at 390 EUR. After that date, the registration fee will be 450 EUR and registration will remain open until 29th of May 2027.

Venue

NORMA 27 will be hosted by Tallinn University (TLU, see: http://www.tlu.ee/en) - the youngest and most dynamic university in Estonia, focusing its research and study programmes in six domains: educational sciences, social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, digital technologies, fine arts and media, sports and health sciences. TLU is the third largest public university in Estonia with 7300 students and more than 500 academic staff. Instead of traditional faculty structure, TLU consists of 6 schools. School of Digital Technologies (DT, see www.tlu.ee/en/dt) is the largest mathematics teacher education provider in Estonia.

Photos

A-222 hall at Tallinn University (250 seats) — A-222 hall (250 seats)

Smaller auditorium with 50 seats — Smaller auditorium (50 seats)

Atrium for coffee breaks at TLU — Atrium for coffee breaks

Katariina käik in Tallinn Old Town — Katariina käik, Old Town

View of Tallinn Old Town — View of the Old Town

Contact

For early enquiries, please contact the conference organizers through this page.
Further contact details will be provided on the full conference website.