【History】

In 1987, our school was transformed from a normal school to the National Hsinchu Teachers College and established the Department of Mathematics and Science Education. In October 1998, the Master’s in Mathematics and Science Education program was founded, and in May 1999, it enrolled its first batch of students—eight in the science group and seven in the mathematics group. Subsequently, to meet the needs of development, in January 2000, the Department of Mathematics and Science Education was officially divided into two departments: the Department of Natural Science Education and the Department of Mathematics Education. In April 2000, the Master’s in Mathematics and Science Education program was renamed the Institute of Mathematics and Science Education and became an independent research institute encompassing both the science group and the mathematics group.

Starting in the 2000 academic year, in line with the school’s development plan, the mathematics group of the Department of Mathematics Education and the science group of the Department of Natural Science Education became the Department of Mathematics Education and the Department of Natural Science Education, respectively, as approved by the Ministry of Education. On August 1, 2004, the science group of the Institute of Mathematics and Science Education became the Master’s in Science Education program, while the mathematics group became the Master’s in Mathematics Education program, to integrate the department and institute into one.

On August 1, 2005, our school was officially restructured as the National Hsinchu University of Education. In response to this transformation plan, the Department of Mathematics Education was renamed the Department of Applied Mathematics, and the Department of Natural Science Education was renamed the Department of Applied Science. The Master’s in Applied Mathematics program was divided into the Applied Mathematics group and the Mathematics Education group, while the Master’s in Applied Science program was divided into the Life Science group, the Nanoscience group, and the Science Education group.

As both departments gradually focused more on applied mathematics and applied science, the cultivation of mathematics and science teachers and research talents became the focus of the

National Hsinchu University of Education’s development. Therefore, the mathematics education group of the Department of Applied Mathematics and the science education group of the Department of Applied Science were recombined. The Institute of Mathematics and Science Education was officially established on August 1, 2009 to adapt to the evolving needs of the times and pursue more diverse goals.

Following the merger of the National Hsinchu University of Education and National Tsing Hua University on November 1, 2016, the Institute of Mathematics and Science Education remained an independent research institute comprising both the Mathematics Education group and the Science Education group.

【Educational Objectives】

Our institute offers both a master’s program and a master’s in-service program. Both programs include separate tracks in mathematics education and science education, primarily focusing on cultivating professional mathematics and science teachers and academic researchers from the elementary to high school levels. The development goals of our institute are oriented toward leadership, excellence, elitism, and internationalization. To achieve the goals of our institute, the curriculum structure includes research methodology in mathematics and science education as well as general courses in mathematics and science education. These courses cover theory, teaching and research practices, educational products, and teacher professional development.

The institute’s short-, medium-, and long-term goals for cultivating professional mathematics and science teachers are as follows: In the short term, the goal is to enable institute students to successfully pass teacher qualification exams. In the medium term, the goal is to train institute students to become mathematics and science counselors in various counties and cities. In the long term, the goal is to facilitate institute students’ becoming conveners or leaders in the fields of mathematics and science in various counties and cities.

The institute’s short-, medium-, and long-term goals for cultivating talents in mathematics and science education research all focus on enhancing students’ research capabilities. In the short term, the goal is to establish and implement subsidy measures for students to participate in international conferences and submit papers to journals, encouraging students to go abroad to participate in and present papers at international conferences or to publish papers in journals. In the medium term, the goal is to increase the quantity and quality of students’ publications in excellent journals and to encourage students to engage in short-term academic exchanges abroad to broaden their international perspectives. In the long term, the goal is to

nurture our institute’s teachers to become leaders in Taiwan’s mathematics and science education research with the goal of establishing a doctoral program.

【Future Directions】

In response to the advent of the AI era and to seize the opportunities presented by AI development, our institute will focus on integrating AI into the development of STEM education, bilingual science/mathematics teaching, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR), neuroscience, applications of science/mathematics teaching, and multicultural science/mathematics teaching. We hope to enable students to understand and use AI effectively, become the talent needed in this new technological era, and enhance their competitiveness.