Dr. T.S. Craig | People Pages: Find employees & contact details

I am a lecturer in the department of Applied Mathematics in the chair of MIA (Mathematics of Imaging and AI). My teaching focus is on first-year courses, typically calculus and linear algebra. My research interests are in the field of mathematics education and engineering education.

I am the head of FERMAT (Fundamental Educational Research in Mathematics at Twente), https://www.utwente.nl/en/eemcs/fermat/. I also run the Mathematics Education Reading Group. For the period 2021-2023 I was my faculty's 4TU:CEE Teaching and Learning Fellow.

I taught and carried out research at the University of Cape Town 1998-2017 (mostly in the engineering academic development programme ASPECT) and joined the University of Twente in 2018.

Organisations

My research is in the fields of mathematics education, engineering education and academic development. Topics I have studied over the years include problem solving, writing as a tool for reflection in problem solving, language and communication in mathematics, identity, extended programmes, and the capability approach. These days my interests are in vectors and the struggles students experience in working with them and understanding them, as well as the Twente Educational Model and how it pertains to mathematics and the engineering programmes with which I am involved. Over the pandemic my research interest in vectors extended to open book technology-mediated assessment in vector calculus.

Two currently active projects are in the area of multivariable calculus. The first is an APOS analysis of students' understanding when constructing double integrals. The second is related to decision making and self directed learning in vector calculus.

Publications

2025

Students’ conceptions of double integral bounds: an APOS theory perspective (2025)International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 56(12), 2379-2401. Craig, T. S. & Pehlivan, L.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2025.2582624Double integrals in engineering mathematics: Confusing region geometry with integrands (2025)In Proceedings of the 22nd SEFI Special Interest Group in Mathematics Seminar (pp. 180-186). Societe Europeenne pour la Formation des Ingenieurs (SEFI). Craig, T. S. & Pehlivan, L.Written plans and the challenges of self-regulation in vector calculus (2025)In Navigating the curves of undergraduate mathematics and statistics education: Meanjin Delta 2025 Proceedings: The 15th Southern Hemisphere Conference on the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics and statistics, 24–28 November 2025, Brisbane, Australia (pp. 2-13). Craig, T. S., Kula, F. & Pehlivan, L.

2024

Conceptualizing the Sample Mean: Insights for Computer Engineering Students in the Learning Process (2024)IEEE transactions on education, 67(4), 574-581. Kula, F., Litvak, N. & Craig, T. S.https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2024.3376795Forced to improve: open book and open internet assessment in vector calculus (2024)In Takeaways from Teaching through a Pandemic. Practical Examples of Lasting Value in Tertiary Mathematics Education (pp. 81-88). Routledge. Craig, T. S. & Akkaya, T.The unexpected consequences of replacing corridor chats with an online community of practice (2024)In Takeaways from Teaching through a Pandemic. Practical Examples of Lasting Value in Tertiary Mathematics Education (pp. 177-183). Routledge. Craig, T. S., Campbell, A., Mofolo-Mbokane, B. & Padayachee, P.

2023

Table Mountain Delta: Reflect. Connect. Be inspired! (2023)International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 54(9), 1761-1764. Craig, T. S., Blackman, C. & Oates, G.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2023.2270241

2022

Now what? Pedagogical implications of a shift to open book assessment of vector calculus (2022)In Proceedings of the 2022 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference, EDUCON 2022 (pp. 1903-1909) (IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference, EDUCON; Vol. 2022). IEEE. Craig, T. S., Kula, F. & Akkaya, T.https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON52537.2022.9766568Forced to improve: open book and open internet assessment in vector calculus (2022)International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(3), 639-646. Craig, T. S. & Akkaya, T.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1977403The unexpected consequences of replacing corridor chats with an online community of practice (2022)International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(3), 745-751. Campbell, A. L., Craig, T. S., Mofolo-Mbokane, B. & Padayachee, P.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1985179

Other contributions

Craig, T.S. (2017). Challenging assumptions of notational transparency: the case of vectors in engineering mathematics. International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology, 48(sup1), S50-S66.

Craig, T.S. (2017). Enabling capabilities in an Engineering extended curriculum programme. In R. Kapp & B. Bangeni (Eds.) Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education: Access, Persistence and Retention (pp. 133-154). Bloomsbury Press

Craig, T.S. (2016). The role of expository writing in mathematical problem solving. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(1), 57-66.

Craig, T.S., Cloete, T.J. (2015). Simple rule, hidden meaning: the scalar product in engineering mathematics. Proceedings of the Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics (Elephant Delta), Port Elizabeth, 22-27 November 2015,18-42.

Morgan, C., Craig, T.S., Schütte, M. and Wagner, D. (2014). Language and communication in mathematics education: an overview of research in the field. ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education 46(6), 843-853.

Craig, T.S. (2013). Conceptions of mathematics and student identity: implications for engineering education, International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology 44(7), 1020-1029.

Dunne, T., Long, C., Craig, T.S., Venter, E.J. (2012). Meeting the requirements of both classroom-based and systemic assessment: The potential of Rasch measurement theory. Pythagoras 33(3), Art.#19, 16 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/pythagorasv33i3.19 .

Craig, T.S. (2011) Categorisation and analysis of explanatory writing in mathematics, International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology, 42(7), 867-878

Research profiles

I teach calculus and linear algebra to first-year students in a variety of programmes, primarily Advanced Technology, Electrical Engineering and Technische Natuurkunde. I also teach a premasters course in Fourier series and Laplace transforms.

The "courses" listed below are the modules including the calculus and linear algebra units I teach.

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Address

University of Twente

Zilverling (building no. 11), room 2078
Hallenweg 19
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

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