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Organizers:
Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Gail Burrill, Michigan State University The Institute for Advanced
Study (IAS)/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) sponsors a unique set of
programs of research and education for research mathematicians and mathematics
educators, graduate students, undergraduates, secondary level teachers, and
college faculty. For the past three
years, one such program has been an International Seminar on Policy and Practice
in Mathematics Education, which has engaged mathematics educators from a diverse
set of countries in a stimulating five-day discussion about common issues and
concerns in the teaching and learning of mathematics, with a particular focus in
2002 and 2003 on teacher preparation and development. Each summer, teams of two
educators—a university mathematics educator or policy-maker and a secondary
teacher-from eight nations met to discuss major issues in mathematics education
policy and practice. The team members were
not functioning in any way as official representatives of their nations of
origin but rather as individuals from both policy and practice who have a story
to tell from their individual perspectives about mathematics education in their
country. A unique feature of
the seminar is bringing together on an equal basis teachers and
university/policy educators- where each issue is considered from both
perspectives. Rather than meet in Park City,
Utah, in 2004, the International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME-10), to
be held in Copenhagen, July 4th -11th of 2004, presents the opportunity to
reconvene many of the past participants of the PCMI International Seminar. Their purpose will be to share with the larger mathematics
education community the conversations that took place during the past three
years and to consider with this larger group how to continue the dialogue at
future Institutes. Additional
consideration will be directed at how to expand the opportunity to those from
other countries. Participants thus far in the three years of the seminar have
come from 14 different countries. Those
involved have benefited from building closer relationships with educators from
other countries in ways that include sharing promising practices they heard
about in the seminar with others in their own countries, visiting each other’s
countries, inviting others to give presentations, and working together on joint
projects. For the ICME-10
conference in Copenhagen, past International Seminar participants from Japan,
Kenya, Iran, and Ecuador will be joined by past participants from Brazil, Egypt,
Sweden, and the United States to address questions such as: What mechanism for
sharing would be most useful across countries; what issues should be addressed;
how can a larger set of people become involved in a way that will retain the
small group personal relationships. The goals of the
Copenhagen session, consistent with the goals of the PCMI International Seminar,
will be to: · promote a frank and open discussion of issues affecting the mathematics education policies and practices of different nations, · identify problems and issues in the preparation and development of mathematics teachers that are shared across several national contexts, · develop a structure and context for sharing our work and addressing challenges through an international dialogue, and, ·
discuss ways to highlight
examples and features of high-quality mathematics teacher preparation and
development found in various societies around the world. The session will begin with an introduction to and overview of the IAS/PCMI program by the organizers. This will be followed by brief reports from two teacher participants (from Ecuador and Kenya) and from university educators (Japan and Iran) on what they gained from the seminar that might be useful for others to hear. The rest of the session will be devoted to small group discussion with all of the participants addressing the questions above. Participation in the International Seminar is by invitation only.
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