[ICMI-News] ICMI News 22: October 2012

[Jaime Carvalho e Silva]

ICMI News 22: October 2012

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: ICMI Study 23
2. Announcement: ICMI STUDY 22: TASK DESIGN IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
3. ICMI Study 22: Outline of the Discussion document
4. EMF 2012 Report - short version
5. CANP 2012, Final report - Executive short version
6. ICMI Digital Library
7. News from IMU - Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Application and Nomination
8. News from ICSU
9. Calendar of Events of Interest to the ICMI Community
10. Subscribing to ICMI News

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1.  Editorial: ICMI Study 23

The Mathematics Study series is a major activity of ICMI. There have been 22 studies authorized since the mid eighties (actually the first volume was published in 1986). We are pleased to announce ICMI Study 23. Its focus will be the teaching and learning of whole number arithmetic in the primary grades. This is the foundation on which most later mathematics learning is built.
Because of its fundamental nature, this topic has possibly been the subject of more research than any single branch of mathematics education.
Nevertheless, instructional practice is far from uniform internationally, and there is ample evidence that many students do not take away key principles from the instruction they receive. Thus, it will be productive to compare international practices in this area, and combine it with recent research on how students develop understanding of some of the basic ideas needed to succeed in this area.

The study theme will be the beginnings of the approach to whole numbers, including operations and relations, the development of place value concepts, and the solution of arithmetic word problems, up to roughly grade 3, depending on the education system. Main subquestions are

1.      What are the mathematical foundations of primary school approach to whole numbers?

2.      What do we know about technologies and resources?

3.      What do we know about diagnosing specific learning disorders (e.g., dyscalculia, sensory impairments) that affect very basic arithmetic?

4.      What do we know about interventions that help students with such disorders?

A crosscutting theme will be: what are the ingredients of the most productive training and professional development for teachers to enable them to deal with these issues?

To know more about ICMI Studies please read the page:

http://www.mathunion.org/icmi/conferences/icmi-studies/introduction/

Roger Howe, Member-at-large, ICMI-EC, howe at math.yale.edu
Mariolina Bartolini Bussi, Member-at-large, ICMI-EC, mariagiuseppina.bartolini at unimore.it

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2.  Announcement: ICMI STUDY 22: TASK DESIGN IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

In 2011 ICMI initiated Study 22 on Task Design. The Study Conference will take place from July 22nd to July 26th 2013 inclusive at the Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK. A book will be prepared for publication after the conference, based on a synthesis of the proceedings and discussions at the conference and subsequently.

The study aims to produce a state-of-the-art summary of relevant research and to go beyond that summary to develop new insights and new areas of knowledge and study about task design.  In particular, we aim to develop more explicit understanding of the difficulties involved in designing and implementing tasks, and of the interfaces between the teaching, researching, and designing roles - recognising that these might be undertaken by the same person, or by completely separate teams.

Convenors: Anne WATSON, University of Oxford, UK & Minoru OHTANI, Kanazawa University, Japan

Plenary speakers:
Marianna BOSCH, Jan DE LANGE, Toshiakira FUJII, Michal YERUSHALMY

IPC
Janet AINLEY, School of Education, University of Leicester, UK
Janete Bolite FRANT, LOVEME Lab, UNIBAN, Brazil
Michiel DOORMAN, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Carolyn KIERAN, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
Allen LEUNG, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Claire MARGOLINAS, Laboratoire ACTé, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont Université, France
Peter SULLIVAN, Monash University, Australia
Denisse THOMPSON, University of South Florida, USA
Yudong YANG, Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences, China

Conference administrator: Ellie DARLINGTON

Study Conference:
The Study Conference will take place at the Department of Education, University of Oxford, July 22nd to 26th inclusive 2013. Places are limited to 80 and only those whose papers are accepted will be invited to attend. The Study Conference will be organised so that most work takes place in Theme Working Groups. For more information about these read the full discussion document at the end of this announcement.

Conference proceedings will be online.  Verbal presentations at the conference will be brief, at most 5 minutes, with the expectation that participants will have read the papers.   Presenters will focus on posing questions and issues raised by their paper and its relation to other papers.
The IPC reserve the right to vary the focus on the themes, and to introduce other paper presentation sessions.

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3. ICMI Study 22: Outline of the Discussion document

There has been a recent increase in interest in task design as a focus for research and development in mathematics education. Task design is core to effective teaching. This is well-illustrated by the success of theoretically-based long term design-research projects in which design and research over time have combined to develop materials and approaches that have appealed to teachers.

One area of investigation is how published tasks are appropriated by teachers for complex purposes and hence how task design influences mathematics teaching. Such tasks are often complex and multi-stage, addressing complex purposes. We encourage an interest also in tasks that have more limited but valid intentions, such as tasks that have a change in conceptual understanding as an aim, or tasks that focus only on fluency and accuracy.

Tasks generate activity which affords opportunity to encounter mathematical concepts, ideas, strategies, and also to use and develop mathematical thinking and modes of enquiry. Teaching includes the selection, modification, design, sequencing, installation, observation and evaluation of tasks. This work is often undertaken by using a textbook and/or other resources designed by outsiders. Textbooks are not the only medium in which sequences of tasks, designed to afford progressive understanding or shifts to other levels of perception, can be presented, and we expect that study conference participants will look also at the design of online task banks.

Tasks also arise spontaneously in educational contexts, with teachers and/or learners raising questions or providing prompts for action by drawing on a repertoire of past experience. We are interested in how these are underpinned with implicit design principles.

It is important to address also the question of sequences of tasks and the ways in which they link aspects of conceptual knowledge. In some sequences, the earlier tasks might be technical components to be used and combined later; in others, the earlier tasks might provide images or experiences which enable later tasks to be undertaken with situational understanding.

The communities involved in task design are naturally overlapping and diverse.  Design can involve designers, professional mathematicians, teacher educators, teachers, researchers, learners, authors, publishers and manufacturers, or combinations of these, and individuals acting in several of these roles. In the study, we wish to illuminate the diverse communities and methods that lead to the development and use of tasks.

Themes of working groups

The work for the Study will take place mainly within five working groups. We expect there to be several aspects (such as use of digital technology, teacher education, curriculum design) which appear in several themes and the conference will be designed to allow these to emerge and be discussed.

Theme A: Tools and representations
Theme B: Accounting for student perspectives in task design
Theme C: Design and use of text-based resources
Theme D: Principles and frameworks for task design within and across design communities
Theme E: Features of task design informing teachers’ decisions about goals and pedagogies

The full version of this document can be downloaded here: 
http://www.mathunion.org/icmi/conferences/icmi-studies/ongoing-studies/

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4. EMF 2012 Report - short version

Report on the Colloquium "Espace Mathématique Francophone" (Francophone Mathematical Space) EMF2012

The EMF2012 colloquium was held in Geneva from February 3 to February 7, 2012.
The theme for the 5th edition of the EMF colloquium was "Mathematics and Social Contract: Issues and Challenges for the 21st Century" in connection with the 300th anniversary of the birth in Geneva of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the 250th anniversary of the publication of the "Social Contract" and of "Emile", and the centenary of the creation of the Rousseau Institute, the famous School of Education founded by psychologist Edouard Claparede (1873-1940).

This edition brought together 290 participants from 25 nationalities, which shows that a workspace and exchange on issues of mathematics education in French mobilized beyond the borders of the Francophonie. There were around 160 submissions and 30 posters in 10 working groups and 4 special projects.
The working groups that worked on six tracks representing 10 hours of debate are really the heart of the system which aims beyond colloquiums organized every 3 years, to allow long-term collaborations in the francophone mathematical space. Special projects can launch more innovative themes, and the project "young teachers" allowed 27 young teachers from nine different nationalities an exchange at a 4 days precolloquium and a presentation of their work at the colloquium.

The lecture of Prof. Charles Magnin, historian of education at the University of Geneva, revealed some aspects of the creation and history of the Rousseau Institute, forerunner of the Faculty of Psychology and Sciences Education of the University of Geneva. The lecture of Prof. Marcos Marino, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Geneva, gave us an accessible vision and fascinating connections between mathematics and physics in the history of string theory and particle physics. Finally, the two slots of roundtables organized by Prof. Michèle Artigue and Prof. Nadine Bednarz allowed to discuss certain aspects of the developments of the mathematics curriculum in several Francophone countries in relation to the social contract.

Despite the freezing cold, this fifth edition of the EMF showed the vitality of this community and its rich scientific production, in a partnership that, around the French language, is based on an exemplary North-South collaboration. Besides the specific language, the EMF has established itself as a privileged communication between different stakeholders concerned with issues affecting the teaching of mathematics: mathematicians, mathematics educators, researchers, trainers, teachers of different levels. The emphasis on the participation of young researchers and teachers was also reaffirmed.

The proceedings of this meeting should be published at the end of 2012 or early 2013. The conference website is still accessible and present a more detailed view of the event http://www.emf2012.unige.ch/.
The next edition of the EMF will be held late April or early May 2015, in Algeria, continuing what has become a rule of alternating north-south in reception areas of the conference.

For the scientific and organizing committees,
Jean-Luc Dorier

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5. CANP 2012, Final report - Executive short version

September 2012

Between August the 6th and 17th 2012, in San Jose, Costa Rica, the International School-Seminar on
Capacity building in Mathematics and Mathematics Education CANP 2012 was held. This event
brought together during two weeks Mathematicians, Mathematics educators, teachers, school Math
advisers, administrative staff of universities from Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Panama
and Costa Rica.
The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction ICMI organized it with the support of
various international agencies and institutions from Costa Rica.
CANP 2012 was a great success because it achieved:
• A scientific program designed in agreement with central guidelines that ICMI has defined for CANPs.
• The effective participation of representatives of five countries in the Central American and the Caribbean region.
• The development of academic sessions of high level in relation to the central themes established by this event.
• Preparations of initial draft papers which assess pre-service and in-service teacher preparation in these countries.
• A significant international impact and dissemination in the region and beyond.
• A strong impact on Costa Rica, directly with the participation of different professionals from
various institutions associated to Math and indirectly through an extensive press coverage. And
with relevance the support of the on-going local efforts for an ambitious reform in Mathematics Education.
• The creation of a Mathematics Education network of Central America and the Caribbean and
the set-up of regional working groups that brought new possibilities for pushing CANP and ICMI goals.
• An effective local and international organization and coordination of all activities that provided
crucial support for the good performance of the academic work developed.
• The adequate management and coordination of efforts of different international and regional
organizations as CIAEM-IACME (Inter American Committee on Mathematics Education) and
ICSU (International Council for Science) in Latin America Regional Office.
• A financial backing of local or international bodies, which contributed, decisively to CANP activities.
CANP was an exemplary, successful experience of cooperation and coordination of national and
international actions for network and capacity building in Mathematics and Mathematics Education in a
developing region.

Organization
One of the central elements for the success of CANP was an impeccable organization. This was carried
out at various levels: scientific, logistical and financial.
The fundamental financial contributions were obtained through the action of the ICMI and IMU
Executive Committees and the efficient administrative support of the IMU-ICMI Office in Berlin.
Other supports were achieved in Costa Rica by the action of the local organizers.
The Organization of the CANP was carried out through three entities.

International Scientific Committee
It designed the academic program of the school-seminar and subsequent actions that may be established.
It was composed of 8 experts in Mathematical sciences and a liaison to ICMI Executive Committee.
The experts were selected in the following manner: four Mathematicians (two in the region, two from
outside the region) and four researchers in Mathematics Education (two in the region, two from outside
the region). It was composed by:
• Edwin Chaves (Costa Rica). Coordinator.
• Salvador Llinares (Spain)
• Eduardo Mancera (México)
• Manuel de León (Spain)
• José Antonio de la Peña (México)
• Joseph Várilly (Costa Rica - Ireland)
• William Ugalde (Costa Rica)
• Luis Carlos Arboleda (Colombia)

National Liaisons
They were researchers and educators in Math and Math Education in the participating countries
Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. They were commissioned to
select the participants from each country. In the case of Costa Rica this process was carried out in close
relationship with the Liaison of the ICMI Executive Committee, Angel Ruiz. They were also
committed to coordinate the elaboration of the national reports and the logistics of travel to participate
in the event. They were:
• Jhony Alexander Villa (Colombia). Co-President
• Edison De Faria (Costa Rica). Co-President
• Sarah González (Dominican Republic)
• Luis Roberto Moreno (Panamá)
• Nelly León (Venezuela)

Editors of national reports
The delegations of each country wrote a report on pre-service and in-service teacher preparation in
each country. Jhony Villa (Colombia), Faria Edison and Yuri Morales (Costa Rica) assumed the
coordination and edition of the reports.

Speakers
All members of the International Scientific Committee participated as speakers in CANP 2012. There
were added two more persons:
• Manuel Limonta (Cuba, Director of the Regional Office for Latin America of ICSU).
• Carlos Hernández Garciadiego (México) who substituted José Antonio de la Peña in a course he
was appointed to.

Participants
66 people participated in CANP 2012, 29 of them women. It was 43 national delegates, 10 speakers
and 13 organizers. The number of participants distributed according to the country of origin is shown
in the following table:

Costa Rica 39 
Dominican Republic 6 
Colombia 6 
Panamá 4 
Venezuela 4 
Cuba 1 
Spain 2 
Ireland 1
México 3 
Total 66 

One speaker was from Ireland, but lives in Costa Rica for more than 30 years.

One of the main features of CANP 2012 was the diversity of its participants: a similar number of
participating men and women, different ages, and different academic occupations.

The scientific program
CANP 2012 worked with seven themes:
Topic 1: Fundamental Mathematics in primary education and secondary
• Course The teaching of probability and statistics from the early years by Edwin Chaves.
• Course Incorporation of analytic geometry in primary and secondary school by Carlos Hernández.
• Course Functions: from high school to higher education by William Ugalde.
Theme 2: Contemporary Mathematics
• Course Three pathways to elementary Geometry by Joseph Várilly.
• Lecture Non Euclidean Geometries and the understanding of the universe by Manuel De León.
• Course Bringing Mathematical frontiers to the classrooms by Manuel De León.
• Lecture Relationship between Mathematics and Mathematics Education: situation in Europe by Manuel de León.
Theme 3: Cross-cutting themes in the Mathematics Education
• Lecture History of Mathematics in Latin America by Luis Carlos Arboleda.
• Lecture Epistemology and history in the teaching of Mathematics by José Antonio de la Peña.
• Course Problem solving by Eduardo Mancera.
• Lecture The development of competencies in the teaching of Mathematics by Salvador Llinares.
Theme 4: Use of technologies in Math education
• Course Using technologies in the teaching of Mathematics by Eduardo Mancera.
• Lecture Use of technological resources in the teaching of Mathematics: situation in Europe by Manuel De León.
Theme 5: Initial and in-service preparation of teachers in education Mathematics
• Course History of Mathematics as an educational resource in teacher training by Luis Carlos Arboleda.
• Lecture Preparation of teachers of Mathematics by Salvador Llinares.
• Lecture Who really prepare the teacher of Mathematics? by Eduardo Mancera.
Theme 6: Research in the teaching of Mathematics
• Course Research in school to improve the development of the lessons by Salvador Llinares.
Theme 7: ICSU
• Lecture The Latin America and the Caribbean ICSU regional office and the implementation of its regional programs in: teaching of Mathematics, sustainable energy, natural disasters and biodiversity by Manuel Limonta.

The national reports
To achieve a better coordination of the tasks corresponding to reports and to establish contacts with the
national liaisons of each of the five countries, a Coordinating Committee was formed. The
Coordinating Committee was composed by Jhony Alexander Villa (Colombia), Yuri Morales (Costa
Rica) and Edison De Faria Campos (Costa Rica).

It is expected that corrected documents can be published in Spanish (year 2013) and English (year
2014). There is a verbal commitment of Manuel de Jesús Limonta Vidal, director of the Regional
Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Council for Science for the donation of
$6,500.00 for the publication of the book with the reports.
Another important aspect is that national reports submitted would form a basis for the work of the
regional network that was constituted during the CANP.
The elaboration, presentation and the work of correction of national reports demanded national groups
a very large effort. These documents will be essential for the decision-making process of educational
authorities in this region and will serve as catalysts for future research and theses of students in
Mathematics Education.

The construction of the regional network
The most important result of CANP 2012 was the creation of the Mathematics Education Network of
Central America and the Caribbean: REDUMATEMATICACYC.
All participants in CANP 2012, both national delegates as speakers and organizers are its founders. The
development of CANP with an intensity of working sessions created a special mystique to establish the
network with much excitement and anticipation. The network established a work plan and a form of
organization.
The network established action plans with precision. These will be evaluated in the following years.

Finances
The institutional financial support was provided by: IMU (CDC), ICSU, ICMI, Ministry of Public
Education of Costa Rica (MEP), ICMAT of Mexico, Costa Rican Editorial Tecnológica and University
of Costa Rica.
The combined contribution of the first three was central. All other sponsors contributed "in kind", ie
never in the form of money.

Final remarks
CANP 2012 was a great success in terms of their ability to call in the region, to ensure effective
participation of developing countries, the quality of its scientific program, the successful development
of all planned activities, social impact in Costa Rica and the region, and the construction of the
Mathematics Education Network of Central America and the Caribbean. CANP managed to converge
the action of various national and international organizations to obtain a result that enhances the
capabilities in Mathematics and Mathematics Education in this region.
Some elements of the CANP 2012 experience can be highlighted.

1. It was possible to build an excellent International Scientific Committee based on the guidelines
defined by ICMI: 4 Mathematics educators, 4 Mathematicians, 4 in the region, four from outside the
region. And it struck a balance of expertise. There was not something free of difficulties. On the way,
the organizers had to adapt the topics and speakers to the specific possibilities and with some constrains.
It is not easy to get experts who are willing to participate in such strenuous activity during two weeks.
The right people for certain subjects often have multiple occupations. It can be convenient when some
people are on holidays, but holiday periods do not coincide in different countries. It requires a good
attitude and a strong personal commitment.

2. The human and professional composition of CANP was diverse. Men and women in similar numbers,
different ages and people whose primary work is given in different places and functions associated with
Mathematics: researchers in Mathematics and Mathematics Education, teachers and administrators in
universities and institutions of primary and secondary education, pedagogical advisers for teachers of
secondary and primary school. This diversity was an asset to CANP.

3. A significant element of this CANP 2012 was the extensive use of technology.
• This process built three high-quality web pages: the original CANP, a provisional page for the
regional network (these in the platform Joomla), a symposium page, and now a virtual
community (using the platform Drupal) that will support the network.
• A web domain was bought to house the created network: REDUMATEMATICACYC.
These websites gave access to:
• Information about the scientific organization and logistics of CANP.
• All documents used in the activities (long texts for each course and lecture, power point
presentations, support materials), draft reports, additional documents.
• Short CVs and photos of all participants.
• Photos of all daily sessions.
• A forum to discuss aspects of the activities.
For the symposium open to the public, registration was conducted online.
CANP assessment also was conducted online using a suitable technology platform. The advantage of
this was to benefit the processing of the information about the perceptions of participants: it diminished
the amount of work, allowed more information processing, and less chance of error.
Similarly, all lectures and courses were filmed and there were edited a collection of videos that have
already been placed in a YouTube channel. That is, multimedia was thoroughly used for greater impact
of the event.

4. Another important development was the press coverage that did get CANP. Several television, radio
and papers covered the event. This was achieved through press releases that were sent by the Ministry
of Public Education. The presence of the minister of public education at the opening ceremony was
very important to show support and get the presence of the media.

5. By concentrating the activities open to the public at a symposium, a Saturday, it allowed a more
relaxed situation during the week, leaving opportunities for various subcommittees to work during the
nights. Similarly, this allowed the organization to engage in the work other people and institutions (in
this case the University of Costa Rica).

6. The organizational form of the regional network through working groups around areas or projects
creates an agile perspective. It was originally thought of a structure with one representative or
coordinator from each country and a general coordinator of the network. However this option was not
appropriate for several reasons. Among them was a lost of individual inclusiveness and personal
commitment that can develop the work within this kind of groups (at least in these countries). Second,
because a dynamical organization was desired. In the manner as stated, there are groups based on their
goals and work plans. If people adequately develop these plans the group can move forward with new
goals or may decide not to. New groups can emerge. And some who do not accomplish their plans,
they will disappear. People can participate in one or more groups. In the absence of an overall
coordinator responsibilities emphasis lies with the group coordinators. And it becomes necessary to
create mechanisms to preserve the common reference of the network. For these purposes and to ensure
connection with ICMI and the international community of Mathematics Education was decided that the
current ICMI liaison in the network temporarily serves as an individual reference. And in the same way
it was decided to build coordination and virtual action using a virtual community in which all members
of the network will be involved (forums, chats, messaging, document sharing etc.). The official
headquarters of the network is Costa Rica.

7. CANP had in Costa Rica an impact on the visibility and outreach of Mathematics Education. But it
should be pointed out a specific dimension in this experience: the impact of CANP in the Mathematics
Education Reform taking place in this country. Costa Rica in May 2012 approved an ambitious new
Math curriculum for all pre-university education. Costa Rica aims to a profound change that will have
consequences for the entire national education system and the country's development prospects. In this
historical context CANP offered special support. CANP was organized locally by the same team of
persons that wrote the new Math curriculum and currently coordinates the actions of reform in that
country (training teachers, pilot plans, virtual courses, etc.). A collection of people who participated in
CANP is directly involved in the reform in various regions of the country (Math and pedagogy advisers,
educational leaders). This means that the CANP was an opportunity to directly support a process of
local educational transformation. Conversely, this situation allowed the Ministry of Public Education of
Costa Rica support CANP in different ways (financially and politically). A very valuable symbiosis.

8. The delegates of countries submitted draft national reports on the pre-service and in-service
preparation of teachers of Mathematics. Despite all the efforts of coordination and editing, not every
document had the same qualities. Now it starts a process to rework these reports. This will be an
important task and it is also a test. However it is not clear they can complete this job the same way,
since in some cases the corrections require much effort. This is part of the on going actions of the new
network.

9. It is important to highlight the extraordinary projection of ICMI and IMU in Costa Rica and the
region with the completion of this CANP. Not only by strengthening their institutional image but now
with its direct involvement in Mathematics Education in the region. The network can be a valuable
means to further strengthen ICMI and IMU in Central America and the Caribbean. It would be
important that the progress assessment of this network’s activity that ICMI should do (within one year)
could be used as a means to enhance the work of this new organization.

10. Convergence was achieved between CANP objectives and purposes of ICSU in the region. Several
themes of CANP correspond to those of ICSU, and the direct participation of José Manuel Limonta and
José Antonio de la Peña (regional office for Latin America of ICSU) favored this relationship. It is
possible to think about sharing new common activities.
It was achieved a verbal commitment from ICSU regional office to support the publication of these
reports with $ 6,500. However we have to wait to see if this support materializes and if such common
collaborative actions in the region can be established.

11. It is possible to summarize some of the factors that contributed to the successful outcome with
CANP 2012:
• Substantial financial support from international organizations that organized, sponsored or cosponsored
the event: without the resources of ICMI, ICSU and the IMU this event would have
been impossible in the terms that occurred.
• Support of an organization instrumental in enabling the region to engage their representatives
and authorities in selected countries and support the event: all national liaisons for CANP were
CIAEM-IACME national representatives and three speakers are executive members or have
been closely associated to this organization (a multinational society affiliated to ICMI).
• The existence of a longstanding strong team in the country where the event was held committed
to this ICMI activity.
• The existence of a local educational situation that allowed attract support from national
institutions and enhanced the impact that CANP had in this country: Math education reform in
Costa Rica.
• A careful organization and coordination of each of the activities well in advance and with a lot
of preparation. For example, the documentation for guiding national reports and the network
building, the resources for each session, were always available with previous long time and
always placed on the website to access them easily.

Angel Ruiz, Vice-President of ICMI, angelruizz at racsa.co.cr

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6. ICMI Digital Library

ICMI Digital Library is growing and is becoming more and more a useful tool to mathematics education researchers and teachers all over the world. 
ICMI Digital Library, available at the ICMI website, is now divided into nine sections:

-- ICMI Bulletin
-- ICME Proceedings
-- ICMI Study Volumes
-- Proceedings of ICMI Study conferences
-- ICMI Discussion Documents
-- ICMI Regional Conference Proceedings
-- Affiliate Organizations Conference Proceedings
-- Proceedings from other ICMI Conferences
-- L'Enseignement Mathématique

The contents of each section grows as the documents are digitzed and authorization to its digital posting is gotten from editors and publishers.
For example, in the section "ICME Proceedings", the Proceedings of ICME-2 (1972 - Exeter), ICME-6 (1988 - Budapest) and ICME-8 (1996 - Sevilla) can be downloaded in full.
The first five ICMI Study volumes (published by Cambridge University Press) are available freely at the section "ICMI Study Volumes".
The Proceedings of ICMI Study Conferences (preparatory conferences to ICMI Study Volumes) number 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are available at the section "Proceedings of ICMI Study conferences".
A number of other documents is available in the different sections and they will be expanded in the future, to include as many documents as possible.

Jaime Carvalho e Silva, Secretary-General of ICMI, jaimecs at mat.uc.pt

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7. News from IMU - Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Application and Nomination

The first Heidelberg Laureate Forum will take place from
September 22 until 27, 2013 and bring together the best
students in mathematics and computer science with winners
of the most prestigious awards in these two disciplines:
Abel, Fields, and Turing Laureates. Detailed information
can be found at http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/.

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is supported by various
institutions, among these are
- The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
- The Association for Computing Machinery
- The International Mathematical Union
which award the three outstanding prizes.

Application:
============
The application Web page is:
http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/heidelberg-laureate-forum-2013/application/.

IMU asks its Adhering Organizations to distribute this
information among their national mathematical communities,
if possible through the newsletters of the national
mathematical societies. Please note that the application
deadline is February 15, 2013.

Nomination:
===========
There is a "bonus" for IMU Adhering Organizations and
national mathematical societies. They can nominate
young researchers. Nominated persons get "priority
treatment", but, since there may be too many nominations,
they have no acceptance guarantee. Typical candidates
for nominations are students who have recently received
a national PhD prize or a similar distinction.

Persons representing an IMU Adhering Organization or
a national mathematical society who want to nominate
a young researcher have to do this via the Web page:
https://application.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/intern/reg_nom_registration_for.php.
However, before one can log in as a nominator, one
has to register and enter an "organisation number"
that will be provided by IMU. Just send an e-mail to
secretary at mathunion.org
to obtain this code and indicate which organization
you represent.

The nomination deadline is also February 15, 2013.

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8. News from ICSU

a) Mathematics Workshop in Chile

On January 11-13, 2012 , ICSU-ROLAC presented the workshop 'Mathematics Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: a reality to be transformed' in Chile.

This workshop was based the analysis of the current situation and the challenges identified in the ICSU-ROLAC Science Plan: 'Mathematics Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: a reality to be transformed', elaborated by the 'Scientific Planning Group in Mathematics Education', as a starting point.

The objective of the meeting was the exchange of experiences among mathematicians involved in mathematics education at primary and secondary education levels, as well as with professors, policy makers and authorities involved in the education sector.

The aim of the workshop was to discuss the role that mathematicians can play in the advancement of mathematics education in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

For the review of the event click on: 
http://www.icsu.org/latin-america-caribbean/what-we-do/workshops/regional-workshop-on-mathematic-education-in-chile/regional-workshop-on-mathematic-education-in-chile

b) Declaration of the Budapest World Science Forum 2011

The recently held Fifth World Science Forum 2011 ‘on a New Era of Global Science’, hosted in Budapest on 17-19 November 2011 by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, adopted a Declaration at its concluding session.

In its recommendations the Declaration identified five areas for particular attention: the responsible and ethical conduct of research and innovation;  an improved dialogue with society on scientific issues; the further promotion of international collaboration in science; collaborative policies to overcome knowledge-divides in the World; and the need for strengthening capacity building in, and for, science. The full text of the Declaration can be downloaded here:

http://www.icsu.org/publications/icsu-members-and-bodies-statements/declaration-of-the-budapest-world-science-forum-2011

The World Science Forum is a biannual event organized by the Academy, and the 2011 meeting was convened in partnership with ICSU and UNESCO.

c) Report now available: ICSU-UNESCO Regional Science and Technology workshops

The synthesis report from the ICSU-UNESCO Rio+20 Regional Science and Technology workshops is now available, giving overarching and regional recommendations for Rio+20.

Five Rio+20 regional science and technology workshops (for Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Arab States, and Europe) were organised by ICSU and UNESCO in 2011 for Rio+20.

Read the workshops synthesis report:
http://www.icsu.org/rio20/regional-workshops/regional-s-t-workshops-report

Natural scientists, social scientists and engineers from across each region participated in the workshops, along with high level policy-makers and representatives of other Major Groups. This gave each region's scientific and technological community the opportunity to prepare joint positions and concerted inputs for the regional preparatory processes, in collaboration with policy-makers and other key actors.


texts taken from ICSU Insight February 2012: http://www.icsu.org/news-centre/insight/newsletters-2012/insight-february-2012

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9. Calendar of Events of Interest to the ICMI Community

ISMTEC 2013 - International Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Conference
Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre
Bangkok, Thailand, 17-20 January 2013
http://www.ismtec2013.org/

EARCOME6 - The Sixth East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education,
Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket, Thailand, 17-22 March 2013
http://earcome6.kku.ac.th/earcome/

CERME 8 - Eighth Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education (CERME 8), 
Manavgat-Side, Antalya - Turkey, 6-10 February 2013.
http://www.cerme8.metu.edu.tr/

MES 7 - Mathematics Education and Society - 7th International Conference, 
Cape Town, South Africa, 2-7 April  2013.
http://www.mes7.uct.ac.za/

AFRICME 4, Lesotho, 11-14 June 2013.

7th Annual International Conference on Mathematics Education & Statistics Education, 
Athens Institute for Education and Research, Athens, Greece, 17-20 June 2013, 
http://www.atiner.gr/edumatsta.htm

Mathematics Education and Contemporary Theory, Manchester Metropolitan University, 
Friday pm 21 June - Monday 24 June 2013.
http://www.esri.mmu.ac.uk/mect2/

MERGA 36
University of Melbourne, 7-11 July 2013.
http://www.merga.net.au/conferences

CIEAEM 65, 
Turin (Italy), July 22-26, 2013.
http://www.cieaem.org/?q=node/30

PME 37, PME Annual Conference
Kiel, Germany, July 28-August 2, 2013.
http://www.pme2013.de/en

SEMT '13, International Symposium on Elementary Mathematics Teaching, 
Charles University, Faculty of Education, Prague, Czech Republic, August 18-23, 2013.
http://www.semt.cz/

CoSMEd  2013, Fifth International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education
Penang, Malaysia, 11-14 November 2013
http://www.recsam.edu.my/cosmed/

EMF-Espace Mathématique Francophone, 
Algeria, 2015.

XIV CIAEM-IACME, Inter-American Conference on Mathematics Education, 
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico - May 3-7, 2015.
http://xiv.ciaem-iacme.org/

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