Deborah King

Professor Deborah King is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, at the University of Melbourne, where she serves as Director of the Bachelor of Science Advanced (Honours) program. She previously held the role of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the Faculty of Science, Director of First Year Studies, Director of the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Centre for seven years, and Coordinator of Learning and Teaching Innovation in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. King completed her PhD at La Trobe University in 1998 and commenced an ARC postdoctoral research fellowship in 2000, working on dynamical systems and topological dynamics. Her career has focused on enhancing undergraduate mathematics education through innovative teaching practices and curriculum development.

King's research interests encompass mathematics education, topological mathematics, combinatorial dynamics, and pure mathematics. She led the FYiMaths project addressing challenges in first-year undergraduate mathematics and contributed to national efforts such as the project on developing a shared understanding of assessment criteria and standards for undergraduate mathematics. Her publications address critical areas including student misconceptions in algebra and functions, the effects of entry standards on teaching, flipped tutorials, learning analytics for personalized support, and graduate learning outcomes perceptions. Notable works include 'Undergraduate Mathematics Students' Understanding of the Concept of Function' (2014), 'The impact of assumed knowledge entry standards on undergraduate mathematics teaching in Australia' (2015, with J Cattlin), 'Flipping the maths tutorial: A tale of n departments' (2014, with K Seaton and C Sandison), 'Investigating students’ perceptions of graduate learning outcomes in mathematics' (2017, with C Varsavsky et al.), and 'The L(h,1,1)-labelling problem for trees' (2010, with C Ras and S Zhou). King received the David White Award for Teaching Excellence (2016) and a Citation for Outstanding Contributions from the Australian Awards for University Teaching (2016).

Professional Email: dmking@unimelb.edu.au