Role
Laurence Shaw is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics in the School of Science and Technology.
He specialises in probability and statistics but also teaches pure mathematics and professional skills modules. Most of his teaching is on the Mathematics cluster of courses and he is currently the module leader for Professional Mathematics Skills, Applied Statistics (Year 3), Mathematical Enterprise, and Mathematical Modelling & Quality Control for Business (Year 2). He is also the Year 2 Tutor. Laurence also teaches on the Stochastic Processes module (Year 3) as well as teaching mathematics and statistics to first-year Forensic Science students within the Professional Skills for Forensic Science and Technical Skills for Forensic Science modules along with occasional guest lectures for 2nd/3rd year Forensics students.
Career overview
Laurence achieved a BA (Hons) in Mathematics from Homerton College, Cambridge in 2010, an MSc in Statistics and Applied Probability from the University of Nottingham in 2012 and a PhD in Mathematics from the same institution in 2016. Throughout 2016, Laurence also undertook a series of short-term research positions at the University of Nottingham, acting as a statistical partner in projects with the Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Biosciences and Veterinary Science. He has been a lecturer at NTU since 2017, achieving SFHEA status in 2023 and winning the Vice Chancellor's Outstanding Early Career Teacher Award in 2019 for his work on making the lecture theatre a more active learning environment.
Research areas
Laurence's main research area is in the scholarship of teaching and learning mathematics in higher education, with a particular focus on embedding employability skills into the curriculum and creating a fair and inclusive teaching and assessment environment. He also has research interests in epidemic modelling using probability theory, namely branching processes and Markov chains. This was the subject of his doctoral thesis. He is also active in multi-disciplinary research with collaborators in medicine, sports science, and the biosciences.
Laurence offers projects to BSc and MSc Mathematics students allowing them to explore statistical methods and machine learning through applied areas such as sporting prediction, industrial logistics, and epidemic modelling.
External activity
Laurence is the external examiner for the MSc Data Science course at the University of Essex (2022-present) and has been an invited speaker on teaching, learning, and assessment practice at the following events:
University of Manchester Education Seminar Series (February 2025)
University of Nottingham Maths Teaching Ideas Forum (March 2023);
University of Bath Centre for Learning & Teaching Lunchtime Hub (April 2022);
Sheffield Hallam University Department of Engineering and Mathematics invited talk (November 2020).
Publications
Journal article
SHAW, L.M., 2023. “It’s so unfair” – can we increase student perceptions of equity in the grading of group assessments by allowing them to declare a distribution of workload? MSOR Connections, 21 (1), pp. 52-57. ISSN 1473-4869
BRUINVELS, G., BLAGROVE, R.C., GOLDSMITH, E., SHAW, L., MARTIN, D. and PIASECKI, J., 2022. How lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 global pandemic affected the pattern and symptoms of the menstrual cycle. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (20): 13622. ISSN 1661-7827
SHAW, L.M. and TRANTER, M.R., 2021. Levelling the playing field in assessment: an analysis of attainment gaps for widening participation, black and minority ethnic mathematics undergraduates before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA. ISSN 0268-3679
BLANCHARD, A.M., STALEY, C.E., SHAW, L., WATTEGEDERA, S.R., BAUMBACH, C.-M., MICHLER, J.K., RUTLAND, C., BACK, C., NEWBOLD, N., ENTRICAN, G. and TÖTEMEYER, S., 2021. A trifecta of new insights into ovine footrot for infection drivers, immune response, and host-pathogen interactions. Infection and Immunity, 89 (10): e00270-21. ISSN 0019-9567
Research report
CHARLES, K. and SHAW, L., 2024. Predictors of black student success. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University.
Conference contribution
SHAW, L. and MARSHALL, C., 2025. The future of on-campus higher education in mathematics. In: Maths Education Seminar Series, University of Manchester, 20 February 2025.
SHAW, L., 2024. Financial maths: harnessing diversity for a richer experience. In: BELONG Inclusive Teaching Mini-Conference, Online, 23-24 June 2024.
SOUTO, A., BUGLASS, S. and SHAW, L., 2024. Exploring inclusive practices at NTU: challenges and opportunities. In: TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, Nottingham Trent University. Nottingham, 18-19 June 2024.
PLATT, R., SHAW, L. and CHAPPELL, D., 2023. Anxiety to satisfaction: the student journey in a group work module. In: CETL-MSOR Conference 2023, Cardiff University, Cardiff, 7-8 September 2023.
SHAW, L., JOHNSTON, J., RIXON, E. and PLATT, R., 2023. Transitions: creating a community among repeating students. In: School of Science and Technology Success for All Symposium, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, 6 June 2023.
PLATT, R., GRAY, J. and SHAW, L., 2023. We don't know what we're doing: a student perspective on notifications of extenuating circumstances. In: TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, Nottingham Trent University, 20 June 2023.
SHAW, L. and HIND, J., 2023. The job hunt: a synoptic assessment with a focus on graduate employment. In: Project-based and Synoptic Modules, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, 10 May 2023.
SHAW, L. and HIND, J., 2023. The end game: using flexible online learning to create a fully personalised synoptic assessment. In: TILT Flexible and Online Learning Group Symposium 2023, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, 27-28 February 2023.
SHAW, L., 2022. It's so unfair! - Can we help students to feel less resentful of group projects? In: CETL-MSOR 2022, Abertay University, Dundee, 1-2 September 2022.
SHAW, L. PLATT, R. and HIND, J., 2022. Who's a naughty cowboy? In: NTU Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, Nottingham, 21 June 2022.
Newspaper or popular journal contribution
SHAW, L., 2022. A brief history of statistics in football: why actual goals remain king in predicting who will win. The Conversation.
SHAW, L., 2021. Being good at maths might help you become great at sports – Emma Raducanu showed us why. The Conversation.
Press expertise
Laurence is an expert in mathematics and statistics. He has written articles for The Conversation (see above) and has appeared on BBC Radio Nottingham discussing the mathematics behind the national lottery in 2021, and finding a solution to the "doors vs wheels" question that went viral in 2022.