[ICMI-News] ICMI Newsletter 30. July 2015

[IMU Technician]

ICMI Newsletter 30
A Newsletter from the ICMI-International Commission
on Mathematical Instruction

Editors:
Abraham Arcavi (ICMI Secretary General)
Cheryl E. Praeger (ICMI Vice President)

Email addresses:
ICMI_Secretary-General at mathunion.org
Cheryl.praeger at uwa.edu.au

Graphic Design/ Layout:
Lena Koch (ICMI Administrator)
Pragnya Challapalli (Assistant IMU Secretariat)


No.30.
JULY 2015

Contents
1. Editorial – From the desk of Roger Howe, Member-at-Large, ICMI Executive
Committee.
2. ICME-13
3. ICME-14
4. Forthcoming ICMI Study Volumes
5. ICME Study 23
6. IMU’s Volunteer Lecturer Program and Mathematics Education
7. HPM, An ICMI affiliated Study Group - Luis Radford, Chair
8. In Memoriam


1. EDITORIAL - FROM THE DESK OF ROGER HOWE, MEMBER-AT-LARGE, ICMI EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE

By Sharing Knowledge and Ideas, We Can All Improve.

The recently published book Building a Better Teacher by Elizabeth Green,
tells a story of mathematics education spanning two countries, the USA and
Japan. In the 1980s and 1990s, US educational reformers promulgated ideas
about how to improve mathematics instruction, by increasing student
participation and emphasis on problem solving. Some Japanese mathematics
educators, prominent among them Akihiko Takahashi, became convinced that the
American ideas were promising, and promoted them strongly in Japan. Through
the Japanese practice of lesson study, the new ideas were able to become
widely known, and were incorporated in many lessons, with the result
that the practice of mathematics instruction in Japan changed substantially
over a period of a few years. Wanting to learn more about the American way
of mathematics education, Takahashi visited the US.

There he found, much to his consternation, that the wonderful ideas he had
read about in mathematics education journals, and in the book Teaching
Problems and the Problems of Teaching by Magdalene Lampert, were rarely to
be seen in US classrooms. And indeed, despite being strongly promoted by the
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) through their 1989
Standards for Mathematics Education, and its sequel Principles and Standards
of Mathematics Education of 2000, the kind of teaching envisioned by the
reformers is still far from the norm in the
US. One key reason for the lack of change is that the US education system
has no mechanism for changing teaching practice. It is built on the concept
of the solitary teacher, who discovers for him/herself the personally most
promising ways of presenting content. Teachers consult with each other
rarely, and likewise, rarely see each other
perform in the classroom. There is little opportunity for ideas, good or
bad, to spread.


Also in the 1990s, Singapore surprised the world by placing first in the
world on the mathematics part of the TIMSS, and some Americans became
interested in the possibility of using textbooks and other materials from
Singapore to improve US mathematics instruction. These efforts have had some
striking successes, but these remain isolated,
and many school districts that experimented with the Singapore materials did
not discover how to
use them well, and abandoned them. In 1999, Liping Ma published Knowing and
Teaching Elementary Mathematics. She had come to the US from China to learn
more about mathematics education. She encountered Deborah Ball’s interview
questionnaire for probing mathematical knowledge of elementary teachers. She
took it back to China and used it with Chinese teachers. She found evidence
that, despite having had less formal education, Chinese teachers have
substantially better grasp of basic ideas in the mathematics curriculum than
do their counterparts
on the US. Although these developments had little immediate impact on US
teaching, they did serve to open the eyes of US mathematics educators that
there were things that the US could learn by studying education in other
countries.

One result has been the incorporation of important ideas from abroad for
teaching place value and
fractions into the latest version of mathematics standards in the US, the
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). At this point, most
states are engaged in attempting to implement the CCSSM, and the same
structural features that hobbled the reform ideas of the 1990s are impeding
the success of this effort. However, at least these valuable curricular
ideas are now on the table. All the above examples show the value of being
able to learn from good practices, wherever they may have originated. By
identifying and disseminating the best thinking around the world for
mathematics instruction, the ICMI can promote overall improvement. The
current ICMI Study 23, which has just had its Study Conference in Macau, has
as its focus whole number arithmetic, which is the bedrock of the
mathematics curriculum. It is my hope that the publications coming out of
Study 23 can help raise achievement worldwide in this crucial area.


2. ICME-13

Preparations for the 13th International Congress on Mathematics Education
(ICME-13) continue. The conference will take place in Hamburg, Germany on
July 24-31, 2016.
The Second Announcement includes: 

A call for papers, posters, discussion groups and workshops (see pages 31-33
for guidelines and deadlines), and for support to cover some of the
expenses.

-
An invitation to mathematics educators from developing and economically
disadvantaged countries to submit applications (depending on need) to attend
the conference (for guidelines and deadlines to apply to the
Solidarity Fund see 35).

Click here for ICME-13 announcements
<http://icme13.org/files/2nd_announcement.pdf> 


3. ICME-14

According to the ongoing tradition, about a year before an ICME, the
Executive Committee of ICMI selects the site of the following Congress.
Three countries submitted bids to host ICME-14 in 2020: Australia (Sydney),
USA (Honolulu) and China (Shanghai).

The Executive Committee is very grateful to the Mathematics Education
communities in the three countries for their enormous efforts and enthusiasm
in preparing their bids and in hosting the delegation during the site
visits.

The Executive Committee had to make a choice between excellent and
outstandingly excellent proposals – after long deliberations Shanghai was
selected to host ICME-14.


4. FORTHCOMING ICMI STUDY VOLUMES

ICMI is pleased to announce that two ICMI study volumes are already in print
and will be available soon:

1. ICMI Study 21 on Mathematics Education and Language Diversity, and
2. ICMI Study 22 on Task Design.


5. ICMI STUDY 23

ICMI Study 23 has recently held its Study Conference (June 3-7, 2015,
University of Macau,
Click here for details <http://www.umac.mo/fed/ICMI23/> .
The Proceedings of this meeting are available here
<http://www.umac.mo/fed/ICMI23/doc/Proceedings_ICMI_STUDY_23_final.pdf> .
The ICMI Study 23 volume is expected in 2016.

The Executive Committee of ICMI, which held its annual meeting at the
University of Macao immediately before the Study Conference, expresses his
deep gratitude to the University authorities for hosting both the meetings
and the
Study Conference, and for contributing to support both. Likewise, The
Executive Committee is very grateful to Mariolina Bartolini Bussi and Xuhua
Sun, co-chairs of the Study, and to the IPC for their intensive efforts to
organize and run the Study Conference.


6. IMU’S VOLUNTEER LECTURER PROGRAM AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

In 2008, in collaboration with the United States Committee on Mathematics
(USNC/M), IMU’s Commission for Developing Countries (CDC) developed the
Volunteer Lecturer Program (VLP). The purpose of the VLP is to offer
universities in the developing world lecturers for intensive 3-4 week
courses in mathematics at the advanced undergraduate or master’s level”
Click here for details
<http://www.mathunion.org/cdc/volunteer-lecturer-program/> .
Such mathematics courses have been offered by volunteers at universities in
Africa, Central America, South East Asia and the Middle East. The host
institutions choose the volunteers from a list available at the website. IMU
supports travel and living expenses of the volunteers with up to $5000 for
the one month stay and the volunteers home institution is expected to grant
them leave with pay for the month. The Francisco Morazán National
Pedagogical University (UPNFM) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, had benefited from
three volunteers from universities in Brazil in their undergraduate program
that prepares high school mathematics teachers. The Director of UPNFM’s
Mathematics Department, Gladys Gómez, and then made a request to IMU for a
volunteer in Mathematics Education.

Since none of the volunteers in the VLP data base were Spanish-speaking
Mathematics Educators, Angel Ruiz and Roger Howe of the ICMI Executive
Committee contacted Patrick (Rick) Scott, Past Chair of the United Stated
Commission on Mathematics Instruction (USNC/MI) and Vice President of the
Inter-American Committee on Mathematics Education (a regional affiliate of
ICMI). Rick was very pleased to accept the opportunity and has just returned
from a month in Honduras. He taught in an undergraduate “Seminar on
Mathematics Education”, and offered a series of workshops to students in a
Master’s program in Mathematics Education in both Tegucigalpa and
San Pedro Sula. He also was able to work with other undergraduate groups,
present a colloquium
on “Research in Mathematics Education” and attend the Honduran National
Mathematical Olympiad where he had the distinct pleasure of participating in
what may well have been the first ever “Olympic Parade” celebrating the
start of a Mathematical Olympiad. To view his report, click here
<http://www.mathunion.org/cdc/volunteer-lecturer-program/country-reports/vlp
-honduras/> .


7. HPM, AN ICMI AFFILIATED STUDY GROUP - LUIS RADFORD, CHAIR

HPM - the International Study Group on the Relations between the History and
Pedagogy of Mathematics - brings together mathematicians, historians of
mathematics, mathematics education researchers, teachers, philosophers,
epistemologists, and educational policy makers.

Two of its main aims are:
-To promote an interdisciplinary and cultural approach to mathematics in
order to better understand the emergence and cultural evolution of
mathematics; and

-To stimulate research about the manners in which the history of mathematics
can enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels and
assist the development of curricula.




HPM organizes two main conferences that alternate every two years:

-Satellite meetings of the International Congress on Mathematical Education
(ICME) devoted to the history and pedagogy of mathematics; and

-European Summer Universities on the History and Epistemology in Mathematics
Education (ESU).

The next satellite meeting will take place in Montpellier, France, from July
18 to July 22, 2016. HPM invites members of the ICMI community to
participate. Featuring a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere of discussion and
exchange, this ICME HPM satellite meeting will include plenary lectures,
discussion groups, workshops, research presentations, and posters.

Information about HPM:

Newsletters.

Proceedings of ICMI Conferences.
1) Digital Library
<http://www.mathunion.org/icmi/digital-library/aos-conferences/> .
2) History and Math.

History of HPM
1) ICMI History <http://www.icmihistory.unito.it/hpm.php> .
2) HPM History.
3) History, Math and Edu.

An ICMI Study was conducted and published in 2000: 
Fauvel,J.,& Maanen,J.(2000). History in mathematics education: The ICMI
study. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
We hope to see you in Montpellier, France, in 2016!


Luis Radford, HPM Chair,Université Laurentienne, Canada


8. IN MEMORIAM

The ICMI community mourns the untimely passing away of two dear friends of
ICMI: Daniel François Coray (1947-2015) and Maria do Carmo Santos Domite
(1948-2015). Daniel F. Coray was a Swiss mathematician, graduated from
Cambridge University in 1974, and Professor at Geneva University. He was
involved for many years with L’Enseignement Mathématique, the official organ
of ICMI.

Bernard Hodgson, former Secretary General of ICMI, remembers: “Daniel played
a major role in the reinvigoration of the links between ICMI and L’EM, when
Hyman (Bass), Michèle (Artigue) and I started our first term on the EC.
He was always keen in having ICMI-related materials appear in the journal

He is the one who proposed the (brilliant) idea of inviting cochairs of ICMI
Studies to reflect on « their » Study, a few years after the event
 I always
appreciated his dedication, wit, scholarship, and subtle sense of humor.”

Michèle Artigue added: “This is very sad news for the ICMI community. During
my terms in the ICMI Executive Committee, I was impressed by his
mathematical culture and also his professionalism as editor of
l'Enseignement Mathématique. For decades, he was a supportive friend of
ICMI, and when needed, a critical friend, and I cannot
think of him without remembering the Symposium he organized in Geneva for
the centennial of the journal a fascinating event which inspired us for the
centennial of ICMI.”

Maria do Carmo Santos Domite was a Brazilian mathematics educator, graduated
from the University of Georgia (USA) and the State University of Campinas
(UNICAMP) in São Paulo (1993). Her Brazilian colleagues attest to her very
important contributions to teacher training, problem solving, and
ethnomathematics as well as to the recognition and valuation of cultural and
linguistic diversity as central to education.
She collaborated with worldwide famous Brazilian educators: Paulo Freire
(during his tenure as Secretary of Education of the Municipality of São
Paulo) and with Ubiratan D'Ambrosio (in the development of
ethnomathematics). Maria do Carmo worked with teacher education from
indigenous groups (Guarani, Tupi, Kaingang, Terena and Krenak). Nationally
and internationally, this work became a reference on issues of intercultural
education and she advised pioneering masters and doctoral investigations in
mathematics education on indigenous, African and Afro-Brazilian education.
ICMI is especially grateful to Maria for her contribution to the 21st ICMI
Study "Mathematics Education and Language Diversity" including hosting the
Study Conference in Águas de Lindóia, Brazil.

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