[ICMI-News] ICMI News 20: October 2011
J Carvalho e Silva
jaimecs at mat.uc.pt
Wed Nov 9 21:34:44 CET 2011
ICMI News 20: October 2011
A Bimonthly Email Newsletter from the
ICMI-International Commission on Mathematical
Instruction
Editor: Jaime Carvalho e Silva, Dep. Matematica,
Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
CONTENTS
1. Editorial: Mathematics Education in Mainland China
2. ICME-12: The 3rd announcement is out
3. ICME-12: registration is open
4. ICME-12: Deadline to submit papers for TSGs was extended
5. ICME-12: Two more appetizers
Mathematics education and language
diversity: background, findings and future
research directions
From Psychological Imprisonment to
Intellectual Freedom - The Different Roles that
School Mathematics Can Take in Student's Lives
6. ICME-12: DGs
7. ICME-12: 7 Reasons to visit Seoul and Korea
8. ICMI Awards Committee calls for nominations
9. Report on the first implementation of CANP
"Capacity and Networking Programme in the
Mathematical Sciences": School EDiMaths
10. Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013
11. ICSU Science Education Review
12. News from IMU
13. André Delessert, former Secretary-General of ICMI passed away
14. Publications of Interest to the ICMI
Community: The very last copies of the ICMI
centenary volume
15. Calendar of Events of Interest to the ICMI Community
16. Subscribing to ICMI News
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1. Editorial: Mathematics Education in Mainland China
One of the important roles that ICMI plays is to
help researchers from different parts of the
world better understand each other and the
different conditions under which we all work. It
is important, for example, that those of us who
have access to good libraries, research funding,
or a significant group of colleagues are reminded
that many others work without easy access to
resources, with little ability to undertake or
communicate their research, or on their own.
However differences are not simply matters of
having, or not having physical, financial, or
human resources. The structure, content, and
philosophy of mathematics education varies
considerably around the world. Coming to terms
with these differences is possibly a more
difficult task, and one requiring more tolerance.
Hence ICMI has an important role to play. In this
newsletter, in lieu of an Editorial, we present a
short (edited) piece on Mathematics Education in
the Peoples Republic of China.
Bill Barton
Mathematics Education in Mainland China
A key characteristic of mathematics education in
Mainland China schools over the last twenty years
has been change both in content and in teaching
approach in order to mirror contemporary world
development. More emphasis is given to the needs
of future citizens, and the role of mathematics
teachers is changing from that of a transmitter
of knowledge to that of a student guide. The
purpose of the mathematics curriculum reform is
- To break the centrally-controlled education system;
- To update content with more relations to real life and applications;
- To promote flexible and student-centered
instruction methods, such as group work and
classroom discussion;
- To focus on students' abilities training instead of rote learning.
Mathematics curriculum reform has brought about
many changes in the mathematics classroom.
Students are now in a more significant position
with more attention to student participation, and
the traditional expository method is being
replaced by a more heuristic method.
A consensus has been reached on mathematics education reform:
- Mathematics is not only a tool for solving real
life problems but also significantly develops
students' ability to reason;
- The mathematics curriculum should cater for
students with different interests and abilities,
all individuals shall develop their abilities and
interests as well as their self-confidence;
- Teachers need to pay more attention to the
cognitive style of students in their classroom,
and to understand mathematics well;
- The humanistic context for teachers'
professional development will be the key to
mathematics education reform?this refers to
personal respect, the promotion of human life,
and the value independent consciousness.
A brief history of the mathematics curriculum reform in mainland China:
1996-1998 Gestation stage of an ideal
1999-2001 Curriculum documents developed, and experimental preparation phase
Compulsory Education Stage (grade 1 to 9):
Number of the experimental districts Percentage
2001 42 0.5%-1%
2002 570 18%-20%
2003 1642 40%-50%
2004 2576 70%-90%
2005 New curriculum adopted nationally 100%
High School Stage (grade 10 to 12):
Experimental provinces:
2004 Hainan, Guangdong, Shandong and Ningxia
2005 + Jiangsu
2006 + Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Tianjin and Liaoning
2007 + Beijing, Hilongjiang, Jilin, Shaanxi and Hunan
2008 + Shanxi, Jiangxi, Henan, Xingjiang and Shanghai
2010 New curriculum adopted nationally
Li Jianhua
October, 2011
(Condensed by Bill Barton)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. ICME-12: The 3rd announcement is out
The 3rd Announcement for ICME-12 has been published.
Please click the button <3rd Announcement> at the
first page of the congress website
http://www.icme12.org/
Or please visit <ICME-12 /Announcements> at the
first page of the congress website.
This 3rd Announcement is the summary of what IPC
and LOC have done so far, containing helpful
information for all who are planning to participate in ICME-12.
Hee-chan Lew, Vice Chair of the LOC and Chair of
the Congress Subcommittee, hclew at knue.ac.kr
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. ICME-12: registration is open
The registration system for ICME-12 is open.
Please visit <Registration and Accommodation> at
the first page of the Congress website
http://www.icme12.org/
and read the direction for the registration carefully.
Then, please go to <My Page> and login with your
ID and Password you used in the sign-up process.
Hee-chan Lew, Vice Chair of the LOC and Chair of
the Congress Subcommittee, hclew at knue.ac.kr
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. ICME-12: Deadline to submit papers for TSGs was extended
IPC of ICME-12 has determined to prolong the
deadline for the proposal submission of Topic
Study Group(TSG) until November 30, 2011 in order
to give ICME-12 potential participants more
chance to submit TSG proposals. Originally the
deadline was November 1, 2011. Date of proposal
acceptance notification is same as January 15,
2012. If you have any question, please feel free
to contact the IPC chair(sungjcho at snu.ac.kr).
Hee-chan Lew, Vice Chair of the LOC and Chair of
the Congress Subcommittee, hclew at knue.ac.kr
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. ICME-12: Two more appetizers
The 12th International Congress on Mathematical
Education will be held in Seoul, Korea, on July
8-15, 2012. This Congress is the main event
organized by ICMI and it is expected that more
than 3000 professionals will attend. In order to
open the appetite for this Congress and encourage
people to participate and register early, we will
begin publishing some appetizers for the plenary
lectures and plenary panels. I thank all the
people involved for the effort made to anticipate
what they might say at the Congress.
APPETIZER # 3
Mathematics education and language diversity:
background, findings and future research
directions
by Mamokgethi Setati (Full professor and
executive Dean of the College of Science,
Engineering and Technology at the University of
South Africa, Honorary Professor of Mathematics
Education at Wits University. PhD in Mathematics
Education, University of the Witwatersrand (2002))
There is a growing body of research on
mathematics education and language diversity. The
unit of study in early research in this area of
study was the bi/multilingual learner. This
location of the problem in the learner was based
on an underlying assumption of inferiority - that
there is something wrong with the bi/multilingual
learner. Studies in the eighties moved from
focusing on the bi/multilingual learner to the
bi/multilingual classroom. In recent years,
research on mathematics education and language
diversity has come to recognize the
socio-political role of language even as it is
used in mathematics teaching and learning. The
fact that decisions about which language to use;
how to use it; and for what purposes are not just
pedagogic. This presentation will focus on the
development of research on mathematics education
and language diversity, highlighting significant
advances, findings, gaps and future research
directions.
APPETIZER # 4
From Psychological Imprisonment to Intellectual
Freedom - The Different Roles that School
Mathematics Can Take in Student's Lives
by Jo Boaler (Professor at the School of
Education, Stanford University, USA, PhD
(Mathematics Education) King's College, London
University, (1996) MA (Mathematics Education)
King's College, London University (1991), BSc
(Psychology) Liverpool University (1985))
Some years ago I studied two schools in England
that taught mathematics very differently. In one
of the schools the students learned by watching a
teacher demonstrate mathematical methods that
they copied and practiced. In the other school
the students worked on applied projects. In both
schools students learned the same mathematical
content but in very different ways. When I first
reported on the study I knew that the students
had developed different ways of knowing
mathematics, different ways of interacting with
mathematics, and had achieved at different levels
at the end of school. In a follow-up study, that
will be the basis of this presentation, I found
the students from the two schools some eight
years later when they were adults of 23-24 years
of age. In this presentation I will report on
the ways the differing mathematics approaches had
impacted the young people as adults, with some
profound differences emerging in the ways that
they interacted with knowledge, and the
intellectual authority and responsibility they
took into their lives. These two studies give
opportunity to examine the different ways that
people may hold, use and relate to mathematics
knowledge, in school and beyond.
Jaime Carvalho e Silva, Secretary-General of ICMI, jaimecs at mat.uc.pt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. ICME-12: DGs
Contrary to past ICME practice, Discussion Groups
for ICME-12 were created in response to a
proposal submitted by a group of up to five
persons representing diverse regions of the
world. As their name suggests, Discussion Groups
(DGs) are designed to gather Congress
participants who are interested in discussing, in
a genuinely interactive way, certain challenging,
controversial or emerging issues and dilemmas of
interest to an international or regional
audience. Each DG was allocated two time slots of
90 minutes each during the Congress. Before the
congress, the discussion group organizing team
will post their page at the ICME-12 web site
(http://icme12.org) including contributions that
define, limit, and/or present basic premises,
theoretical considerations, research findings,
viewpoints and facts that should be accounted for
a fruitful discussion to be attained. Prior to
the congress, participants can send individual
contributions to the organizers for consideration
as additional background information and may
raise questions or participate in an exchange of
ideas through the web site. The list of the DGs
that have been considered and their co-chairs is:
DG 1: Current Problems and Challenges in
Non-university Tertiary Mathematics Education
(NTME)
Co-Chairs: James Roznowsk(USA)
jroznowski at harpercollege.edu Low-Ee Huei
Wuan(Singapore) lowhw at sp.edu.sg
DG 2: Creativity in Mathematics Education
Chair: Hartwig Meissner(Germany) meissne at uni-muenster.de
DG 3: Issues Surrounding Teaching Linear Algebra
Co-chairs: Avi Berman(Israel)
berman at technion.ac.il Sang-Gu Lee(Korea)
sglee at skku.edu
DG 4: The Evolvement of Mathematics Teachers' Community-of-Practice
Co-Chairs: Nitsa Movshovitz-Hadar(Israel)
nitsa at technion.ac.il Atara Shriki(Israel)
Shriki at technion.ac.il
DG 5: Uses of History of Mathematics in School (pupils aged 6 - 13)
Co-Chairs: Bjørn Smestad(Norway) bjorn.sme
stad at lui.hio.no Funda Gonulates(USA/Turkey)
fgonulates at gmail.com
DG 6: Postmodern Mathematics
Co-Chairs: Paul Ernest(UK) p.ernest at ex.ac.uk
Regina Möller(Germany)
regina.moeller at uni-erfurt.de
DG 7: Improving Teacher Professional Development Through Lesson Study
Co-Chairs: Toshiakira Fujii(Japan)
tfujii at u-gakugei.ac.jp Akihiko Takahashi(USA)
atakahas at depaul.edu
DG 8: Theory and Perspective of Mathematics
Learning and Teaching from the Asian Regions
Co-Chairs: Chun Chor Litwin Cheng(Hong Kong)
cccheng at ied.edu.hk Hong Zhang(China)
Zhanghongredg6 at 163.com
DG 9: Using Technology to Integrate Geometry and
Algebra in the Study of Functions
Co-Chairs: Scott Steketee(USA) stek at kcptech.com
Cheah Ui Hock(Malaysia) uhcheah at recsam.edu.my
DG 10: New Challenges in Developing Dynamic
Software for Teaching and Learning Mathematics
Co-Chairs: Zsolt Lavicza(UK) zl221 at cam.ac.uk
Markus Hohenwarter(Austria)
markus.hohenwarter at jku.at
DG 11: Mathematics Teacher Retention
Co-chiars: Axelle Faughn(USA/NC)
afaughn at email.wcu.edu Barbara Pence(USA/CA)
Barbara.Pence at sjsu.edu
DG 12: Mathematics Teacher Educators' Knowledge for Teaching
Co-chairs: Kim Beswick(Australia)
kim.beswick at utas.edu.au Olive Chapman(Canada)
chapman at ucalgary.ca
DG 13: The Role of Mathematics Education in
Helping to Produce a Data Literate Society
Co-Chairs: William Finzer(USA)
bfinzer at kcptech.com Cliff Konold(USA)
konold at srri.umass.edu
DG 14: Mathematical Modeling in Connecting Concepts to Real World Application
Co-Chairs: Zhonghe Wu(USA) zwu at nu.edu Lijun Ye(China) yeatsylj at 126.com
DG15: Mathematics and Culture in Micronesia: An
exploration of the mathematical aspects of
indigenous practices
Co-Chairs: A. J. (Sandy) Dawson(USA)
dawsona at hawaii.edu Donald Rubinstein(Guam)
rubinste at uguam.uog.edu
DG16: Can art save mathematics?
Co-Chairs: Dirk Huylebrouck(Belgium)
Huylebrouck at gmail.com Slavik Jablan(Serbia)
sjablan at gmail.com
DG17: Teaching of Problem Solving in School Mathematics Classrooms
Co-chair: Yew Hoong Leong(Singapore)
yewhoong.leong at nie.edu.sg Rungfa
Janjaruporn(Thailand) rungfajan at yahoo.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. ICME-12: 7 Reasons to visit Seoul and Korea
Seoul, the capital of Korea, receives ICME-12 in
its Convention & Exhibition Center-COEX. ICME-12
will certainly be a huge scientific and social
success but the city and the country are also
worth visiting. Let's see the main reasons to
visit Seoul and Korea.
1. Korean boyangsik food
Korean people often say that "good food has
magical powers." To keep in shape, no medicine
beats a fine-cooked meal. This belief is well
reflected in Korea's boyangsik food, which
literally means food that invigorates the body.
The most popular boyangsik foods in Korea are
those that come in a meat-based broth like
samgyetang, seolleongtang, and gomtang. In terms
of Oriental medicine, boyangsik food replenishes
the body, helps circulate energy, and balances
the ying and the yang. Traditionally, boyangsik
was consumed to maintain body balance (especially
during the changing seasons), or to replenish the
body in times of weakness. Nowadays, it is
consumed throughout the year regardless of the
season. Try some of the popular Korean boyangsik
foods for its great taste and healthy benefits.
And you should not forget Soju, a distilled
beverage native to Korea.
2. Myeong-dong is all about shopping!
From the towering super stores of Migliore, Lotte
Department Store, Avatar and High Harriet to the
cozy, mom-and-pop shops lining the sidestep,
Myeong-dong has something for everyone. Whether
the search is for accessories, athletic wear,
shoes, boots or a number of other mid-to-high
priced items, you'll find it all here. With the
main streets boasting larger, well-known stores,
many of the better bargains are to be found at
some of the discount stores that require a little
walking to get to. All this selection of styles
and sizes, coupled with the freedom of strolling
in the open-air make Myeong-dong a shopping
destination not to be missed and an adventure
sure to be remembered.
2. Seoul: Towering High into a Bright Future
Korean capital city, Seoul, is located in the
Midwest of the Korean peninsula. It has been an
area of strategic importance since prehistoric
times, particularly in the realms of politics,
economics, society and culture. During the Era of
the Three States (4th to mid-7th centuries), the
area was frequently used as a battleground among
the ancient ruling kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje
and Silla. It was designated as Korea's capital
city during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). In
1945, the city was named Seoul, which means
'towering high.' It is home to more than 10
million inhabitants.
4. UNESCO World Cultural Heritage
In the heart of Seoul stands a royal palace
designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage,
Changdeokgung Palace. The Joseon Dynasty built
"Five Grand Palaces" in Seoul: Changdeokgung,
Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung and
Gyeonghuigung, all of which are located in the
district of Jongno-gu and Jung-gu. Asia's largest
underground street shopping mall lies near the
15th century royal tombs. Namdaemun, officially
the Sungnyemun, is a historic pagoda-style
gateway located in the center of Seoul. The gate,
which was begun in the 14th century, is now
listed first among the National Treasures of
South Korea. The historic 24-hour Namdaemun
market is next to the gate where it has been
operating for centuries.
5. Jeju: Volcanic Island Designated as a World Natural Heritage
The southernmost territory of Korea, the Jeju
Special Self-Governing Province is a volcanic
island created by eruptions millions of years
ago. It is Korea's largest island and an
international destination with fascinating
natural landscapes and academic value. In October
2010, nine geological sites in Jeju Island
received recognition as UNESCO Global Geoparks
from the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN).
The Jeju sites became the first in Korea to earn
this recognition, and with it, Jeju becomes the
only place in the world with three UNESCO
certifications, following its Biosphere Reserve
and UNESCO World Heritage Site designations in
2002 and 2007, respectively. The nine Jeju sites
designated as Global Geoparks include Hallasan
Mountain, Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, and
Manjanggul Cave.
6. Gyeongju : Treasure Trove of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage
Gyeongju, located in southeast Korea, was the
capital of the Silla Kingdom for 992 years (BC
57-935), the longest surviving kingdom in the
history of Korea. Not only is it astounding that
it was ruled by 56 kings spanning a period of
almost a thousand years. Gyeongju still shines
today, more than a millennium after the kingdom's
demise. Buddhism was introduced in Silla in the
6th century and played a significant role in
strengthening royal authority and unifying the
people, becoming the foundation of the area's
art, tradition, and culture. Consequently,
Gyeongju is the home of the greatest Buddhist art
treasures in Korea, and is the nation's most
popular field trip destination. Bulguksa Temple
and Seokguram Grotto are Gyeonju's most
celebrated relics and are said to capture the
essence of the Korean Buddhist culture. Gyeongju
is a virtual cornucopia of history, meriting
praise and preservation worldwide.
7. The World's Oldest and Most Complete Buddhist
Scriptures: UNESCO Memory of the World Register
The Tripitaka Koreana (Goryeo Dynasty Tripitaka)
are the world's only extant collection of wooden
printing blocks for the Buddhist scriptures that
are written in classical Chinese. Stored in the
buildings of Janggyeong Panjeon Hall in Haeinsa
Temple in Gyeongsangnam-do province, the
Tripitaka Koreana was completed by scribes
between 1236 and 1251. It is recognized as the
most comprehensive example of the woodblock
printing technique in all known Buddhist
scriptures of that time. The Goryeo Dynasty
Tripitaka is a priceless example of the early
woodblock printing technique. Lacquered using sap
from the lacquer tree, the woodblocks have
excellent durability and can still print crisp
copies 760 years after their creation. The total
87,000 woodblocks that make up the Goryeo Dynasty
Tripitaka record nearly the entire collection of
Buddhist scriptures that exist in Asia. Based on
the value of their content and the excellent
state in which they have been preserved, they
were listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World
Register in June 2007.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. ICMI Awards Committee calls for nominations
The Executive Committee of the International
Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) a
number of years ago created two awards, each in
the form of a diploma and a medal, to recognise
outstanding accomplishments in mathematics
education research:
* the Hans Freudenthal Award, for a major
programme of research on mathematics education,
* the Felix Klein Award, for lifelong achievement
in mathematics education research.
An ICMI Awards Committee has been appointed for
selecting the awardees. The President of ICMI has
appointed Professor Carolyn Kieran to chair this
committee, the other members of which are
anonymous until their terms have come to an end.
The first recipients of these two awards,
Professor Guy Brousseau (France) for the Felix
Klein Award and Professor Celia Hoyles (UK) for
the Hans Freudenthal Award, formally received
these at the opening ceremonies of ICME-10 in
Copenhagen, in July 2004. The two 2005 awards
went to Professors Ubiratan D'Ambrosio (Brazil)
(the Klein Award) and Paul Cobb (USA) (the
Freudenthal Award), and for 2007, Professors
Jeremy Kilpatrick (USA) and Anna Sfard
(Israel/UK/USA) received the Klein and the
Freudenthal Awards, respectively; these awards
were formally presented to the recipients at the
opening ceremony of ICME-11 in Monterrey, México,
in July 2008. The two 2009 awards went to
Professors Gilah Leder (Australia) (the Klein
Award) and Yves Chevallard (France) (the
Freudenthal Award). The awards for 2009 and for
the current 2011 cycle will be formally presented
to the recipients at the opening ceremony of
ICME-12 in Seoul, Korea, in July 2012.
The ICMI Awards Committee is at this time
entering the 2011 cycle of selecting awardees. We
acknowledge that the 2011 process is a little
behind schedule, and apologise for the delay, but
we expect to announce the 2011 awards in
February, 2012. As was the case with the previous
cycles, the ICMI Awards Committee welcomes
suggestions coming from the mathematics education
community, hence this call for nominations.
A nomination of a candidate for the Felix Klein
Award or the Hans Freudenthal Award has to be
accompanied by a summary presenting the vita and
the achievements of the person nominated, as well
as the reasons for the nomination. Moreover,
nominations also have to include the names and
coordinates of two or three persons from whom the
committee may seek further information.
All proposals must be sent by e-mail
(kieran.carolyn at uqam.ca or carkie2 at yahoo.ca) to
the Chair of the Committee no later than December
1, 2011.
Prof. Carolyn Kieran, Chair of the ICMI Awards Committee
Département de mathématiques, Université du
Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, succursale
Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, CANADA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Report on the first implementation of CANP
"Capacity and Networking Programme in the
Mathematical Sciences": School EDiMaths
The school EDiMaths, which is the first
implementation of project CANP "Capacity and
Networking Programme in the Mathematical
Sciences", a joint program of the International
Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) and
the International Mathematical Union (IMU) set up
with the support of UNESCO and CIMPA, was held in
the FAST (Faculty of Science and Technology),
University of Bamako from 18 to 30 September
2011. It referred as planned capacity building of
teaching mathematics and mathematics teacher
educators in the sub-region of Francophone West
Africa, paying particular attention to the
specific regional context, the strengthening of
connections and collaborations between different
communities involved in the training of teachers:
mathematics, didactics, teacher trainers from
secondary schools, inspectors ... and the
creation of a regional network of trainers whose
activities are intended to continue beyond the
EDiMaths only school.
The school concerned as planned five countries in
the sub-region: Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso,
Ivory Coast, Niger, for which national contacts
were identified. Benin has also sent a
representative. Participation requests had been
received from citizens of other Francophone
countries (Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar), but
uncertainties about the school budget failed to
respond positively to such requests.
The initial project included the funding of about
forty participants: 20 from the host country and
5 for each of the other four countries. The
selection of participants in each country was
made in consultation between the national
contacts, the inspectorate and teacher training
institutions. This selection has not caused
problems, school EDiMaths having, upon its
announcement, aroused great interest and national
contacts have played their role perfectly.
Furthermore, according to our demands, a special
effort was made to include the various
communities involved in the formation. To the
participants in the sub-region are to add the six
lecturers French scientific committee members,
the local members that have occurred as trainers,
the national contacts who also acted as trainers,
two invited african faculty members who developed
the work on gender, and nine members of the local
organizing committee. Finally the effective
EDiMaths was composed of 61 persons.
The school was primarily the training of
mathematics teachers of the second degree but, as
had been hoped, many participants and trainers
were also involved in the training of teachers of
elementary school. Regarding the participants
must be noted, however the large imbalance in the
genre, no country in the sub-region having more
than two participants and two of them, with the
host country, had none.
The school program was developed by the
Scientific Committee in consultation with the
local organizing committee. In accordance with
the philosophy of the program CANP, the
Scientific Committee with eight members plus a
representative of the ICMI consisted of a
balanced academic mathematicians and
educationalists, teachers and researchers of the
North (in this case France) and the sub-region.
The scientific program was organized around seven
major themes: fundamental mathematics,
contemporary mathematics, situations for class
research, technology and mathematics education,
cross-cutting themes relevant to regional
priorities, building a professional community,
promotion of mathematics.
ICMI has proposed to open a Moodle platform
accessible to all participants of the school.
Initially, in it will be available all documents
that have been made to this school and additional
resources posted by the trainers. It will also
host the current version of the reports prepared
for school. It will then serve as a forum between
the participants of the school who are committed
to continue to feed it by pooling their resources
for teacher training. In addition a web page will
be open for EDiMaths on the ICMI website where
organizers of the school will be able to migrate
documents which appear to deserve wider
distribution.
The evaluation of EDiMaths was conducted using a
questionnaire sent to participants and a
debriefing session coordinated by Michèle
Artigue. All but three participants meet that
EDiMaths has reflected the philosophy of the
program CANP and show their commitment to this
philosophy. The reasons given to justify this
position are primarily the composition of
participants in school, the choice of themes and
their management through the school and decisions
taken to build a regional network. The few
negative responses came from participants who
feel that the school has not paid sufficient
attention to regional specificities.
Achieving EDiMaths was made possible by the
support of UNESCO, the International Mathematical
Union, the ICMI, the International Centre for
Pure and Applied Mathematics (CIMPA), the SCAC of
the Embassy of France in Mali, Joseph Fourier
University in Grenoble and substantial support
from the Ministry of Education, Literacy and
National Languages of Mali. In addition, the FAST
University of Bamako has made freely available to
EDiMaths, an amphitheater for the opening
ceremony, a large room and a computer room for
training and provided wireless internet access
for participants. The trainers have also
benefited from the reception in his office of the
Department of Mathematics and a small adjoining
office.
Michèle Artigue, Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 et ICMI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013
a) MATHEMATICS OF PLANET EARTH COMPETITION FOR AN
OPEN SOURCE EXHIBITION OF VIRTUAL MODULES
http://www.mpe2013.org/competition
This competition is part of the world initiative
"Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013" (MPE2013). The
exhibition will have a virtual part as well as
instructions to realize material parts. Examples
of modules or themes to be covered are available
on the website
To stimulate imagination on the many domains
where mathematics plays a crucial role in
planetary issues the following four themes are
proposed, but these themes are not exhaustive:
- A PLANET TO DISCOVER: oceans; meteorology and
climate; mantle processes, natural resources,
celestial mechanics
- A PLANET SUPPORTING LIFE: ecology, biodiversity, evolution
- A PLANET ORGANIZED BY HUMANS: political,
economic, social and financial systems;
organization of transport and communications
networks; management of resources; energy
- A PLANET AT RISK: climate change, sustainable
development, epidemics; invasive species, natural
disasters
The typical modules submitted to this competition
can be of four forms and should have some
scientific explanations for the public:
- A module explaining how to realize a physical module in a museum
- An interactive exhibit to be watched either on the web or in a museum
- A film
- Image(s)
COMPETITION PERIOD, JURY, PRIZES
The competition will be open from January 2012 to May 15, 2012.
The prize winners will be selected by an
international jury nominated by MPE2013. The
prize winners will be announced in August 2012.
The judges decision will be final.
The first, second and third prize winners will
receive respective prizes of US$ 5000, US$ 3000
and US$ 2000. The winning modules will occupy a
prominent place on the website of the exhibition.
Moreover it is planned to show the modules of the
overall winners in exhibitions and museums.
b) SUBSCRIBING TO MPE2013 Newsletter
Click on
http://mpe2013.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f59ce33759e67baa06b045721&id=89298e6cba&e=d7647eeaac
and go to the "Newsletter" button to subscribe to
MPE2013 online.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. ICSU Science Education Review
The International Council for Science ICSU is the umbrella body for
Science internationally. As well as National Members it has
Institutional Members, and ICMI is associated with ICSU as a Commision
of the International Mathematical Union IMU, one of ICSU's institutional
members. As part of ICSU's development of its new Strategic Plan
2012-2017, ICSU wished to "... define [its] future role in relation to
science education". It established a 12 person panel which produced the
recently released "Report of the Ad-Hoc Review Panel on Science
Education". ICMI/IMU made a substantial submission to the review in 2010
http://www.mathunion.org/icmi/other-activities/reports/
and also commented on a draft of the report in January 2011.
The review is confined to education in the Natural
Sciences, but mentions the work of ICMI. The Report was endorsed by the
ICSU Committee CSPR, and will be discussed at the ICSU General Assembly
in September 2011 in Rome. The ICSU Executive has decided not to propose
a new initiative dedicated to science education at the General Assembly.
Instead it was agreed that science education should be integrated across
all relevant ICSU science activities.A copy is available at:
http://www.icsu.org/what-we-do/committees/science-education-review
Recommendations relevant to Mathematics Education include (i) a web site
pointing to portals where science education resources may be found, and
(ii) encouragement of the three ICSU Regional Offices to contribute
actively to "mapping the status of science education, whether formal or
informal, in the regions in which they are located; ... to network with
any organizations in their respective regions involved in science
education and science literacy that are aligned with ICSU's own science
education strategy, and work together to foster South-South cooperation
in science education".
Cheryl Praeger", IMU-ICMI liaison, cheryl.praeger at uwa.edu.au
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. News from IMU
a) CIMPA/ CARMIN: CALL FOR A PROGRAM OF SHORT MATHEMATICAL VISITS
CARMIN and CIMPA issued a call for a program to
support short visits of young mathematicians from
developing countries to CARMIN institutions in
France, which may include visits to CIMPA
supporting states.
This program is designed for mathematicians
residing in a developing country and having
received their PhD within the last four years
when applying or expecting to obtain it in the
next two years.
Those coming from newly industrialized countries
as of 2011will be considered for partial support.
Application deadline: end of November 2011
http://www.mathunion.org/cdc/grants/non-imu-grants/
b) IMU's Commission for Developing Countries
(CDC) invites applications for its individual and
conference support programs.
For more information please go to:
http://www.mathunion.org/cdc/grants/
c) Sir JOHN BALL ELECTED ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
OF ICSU (International Council for Science). The
General Assembly elected the officers for the
next three year period and John Ball, former
president of IMU, was elected on the Executive
Board of ICSU for a three year period starting
January 2012. IMU is a member of ICSU.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. André Delessert, former Secretary-General of ICMI passed away
André Delessert, Secretary of ICMI from 1964 to 1972 passed away
one year ago October 19, 2010.
Born in Lausanne July 2, 1923, he made all his studies to get the Bachelor
of Science degree from the University of Lausanne in 1945. It was here
that he continued his career focused primarily on the teaching of
mathematics and their pedagogy, with the exception of two years
(1946-1948) during which a French government scholarship enabled
him to study at the Institut Henri Poincare and Ecole Normale Superieure.
Upon his return to Lausanne for several years he devoted himself to teaching
secondary and upper secondary education, while preparing a thesis that
he presented in 1962, thesis entitled "A construction of elementary geometry
based on the concept of reflection". This work
was conducted in parallel with the
writing of a manual of geometry, simply titled "Plane Geometry", manual
which allowed several generations of students to discover the rigorous
geometric reasoning, illuminated by the intrusion of a picturesque character,
Zosyme, that naively questioned the master at the end of the chapters.
Contained in this manual are also many exercises that awakened the geometric
intuition of the student.
In 1964 he was appointed professor at the University of Lausanne, where he
continued his educational activity in particular
by teaching general mathematics
to the science students. His organizational skills made him little by little
take responsibility within the University: President of the Section
mathematics and dean of the Faculty of Science and finally Rector
University from 1983 to 1987, years preceding his retirement. At the same
time and even beyond his retirement he has continued to provide support
to the young colleagues of compulsory secondary education by conducting
training seminars of continuous preparation, encouraging the development of
a bulletin of the teachers of mathematics.
The interests in the life of André Delessert were not reduced to mathematics
and its pedagogy; let's note the artistic side: the practice of sculpture and a
wife artistic painter.
Daniel AMIGUET, Renens, Switzerland, daniel.amiguet @ tvtmail.ch
------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Publications of Interest to the ICMI
Community: The very last copies of the ICMI
centenary volume
The very few last printed copies of the ICMI
centenary volume are still available for a short
time and will not be printed again.
The volume with the title "The First Century of
the International Commission on Mathematical
Instruction (1908-2008). Reflecting and Shaping
the World of Mathematics Education" includes
texts written by Hyman Bass; Jeremy Kilpatrick;
Jean Luc Dorier; Mogens Niss; Toshi Ikeda; Jo
Boaler; Joao da Ponte; Gert Schubring; Ferdinando
Arzarello; Gelsa Knijnik; Mamokgethi Setati;
Michèle Artigue; Bernard R. Hodgson; Alan Bishop;
Ubiratan D'Ambrosio; Jill Adler; Bill Barton;
Deborah Ball; Marcelo Borba; Gilah Leder and many
others.
Please hurry to buy your personal copy or
recommend immediately to the library of your
department.
The price is 40 euros for the ICMI community and 60 euros for libraries.
Details of the procedure to buy the book are available here:
http://www.treccani.it/catalogo/catalogo_prodotti/Le_collane/biblioteca_enciclopedica.html
http://www.unige.ch/math/EnsMath/Rome2008/
Jaime Carvalho e Silva, Secretary-General of ICMI, jaimecs at mat.uc.pt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Calendar of Events of Interest to the ICMI Community
Volcanic DELTA 2011,
Eighth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the
Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate
Mathematics and Statistics,
Rotorua, NZ, November 27 - December 2, 2011
http://www.delta2011.co.nz/delta2011/
Fourth National Conference "Technology and Innovation in Math Education"
TIME 2011, Indore Public School, Indore, India, 26-29 December, 2011
http://www.math.iitb.ac.in/TIME2011/
Creating Balance in an Unjust World Conference on
Math Education and Social Justice
Mission High School in San Francisco, CA, USA, January 13-15, 2012.
http://creatingbalanceconference.org/
EMF 2012 - Espace Mathématique Francophone,
Genève, 3-7 Février 2012
http://www.emf2012.unige.ch/
Seventh International Conference on Science,
Mathematics & Technology Education:
Transformations through Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
- Towards an Innovative and Sustainable Society,
Muscat, Oman, February 12-15, 2012
d.fisher at smec.curtin.edu.au
International colloquium in honour of Michele Artigue -
- (Professor at the Université Paris Diderot, ex-president of ICMI):
The didactics of mathematics: approaches and issues.
Paris, May 31st, June 1st and 2nd 2012.
http://www.lar.univ-paris-diderot.fr/colloque/artigue
MERGA 35
National Institute of Education, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore, July 2-6,
2012
http://www.merga.net.au/conferences
WFNMC Mini Conference 2012
COEX, Seoul, July 7, 2012
http://www.amt.edu.au/wfnmc/icme2012miniconference.html
ICME-12 - Twelfth International Congress on Mathematical Education
COEX, Seoul, Korea, July 8-15, 2012
http://www.icme12.org/
MCG7
KSA, Busan, Korea, July 15-18, 2012
http://www.mcg7.org/
HPM 2012 History and Pedagogy of Mathematics
The HPM Satellite Meeting of ICME-12
Daejeon (Korea), July 16-20, 2012
http://www.hpm2012.org
PME Annual Conference
Taipei, Taiwan, July 18-22, 2012
http://www.tame.tw/pme36/
Statistics Education Section of Eleventh Iranian Statistical Conference
Iran University of Science and Technology, August 28-30, 2012
info: isc11 at iust.ac.ir
EARCOME6 - The Sixth East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education,
Thailand, March, 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. SUBSCRIBING TO ICMI News
There are two ways of subscribing to ICMI News:
1. Click on http://www.mathunion.org/index.php?id=674 with a Web browser
and go to the "Subscribe" button to subscribe to ICMI News online.
2. Send an e-mail to icmi-news-request at mathunion.org with the Subject-line:
Subject: subscribe
In both cases you will get an e-mail to confirm your subscription so
that misuse will be minimized. ICMI will not use the list of ICMI News
addresses for any purpose other than sending ICMI News, and will not
make it available to others.
Previous issues can be seen at:
http://www.mathunion.org/pipermail/icmi-news
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