Ben-Gurion University’s Center for Advanced Studies in Mathematics, in collaboration with the Education Ministry and the Israel Science Foundation, hosted an international mathematics conference "Mathematics and Mathematics Education: Searching for Common Ground", April 29 - May 3 2012
The teaching and learning of mathematics in Israel is facing a troubling decline. One symptom of this is that currently, there is no approved national curriculum for junior high or high schools. This is largely due to the fact that professional committees comprised of mathematics researchers and mathematics educators appointed by the Ministry of Education were not able to agree on the content and pedagogy of the curriculum. This disparity arises from the difference in opinions regarding the best way to present concepts in mathematics and what to emphasize when teaching.
In order to overcome this challenge, in collaboration with the Education Ministry and the Israel Science Foundation, the Ben-Gurion University’s Center for Advanced Studies in Mathematics is hosting a 5-day international mathematics conference whose goal is to facilitate learning from the experience of other countries and to nurture dialogue between local experts.
The conference will bring together 80 researchers and experts in mathematics education from Israel and abroad, including Dr. Michele Artigue (Université Paris 7 Diderot), Dr. Stephen Lerman (South Bank University), Dr. Hy Bass (University of Michigan), Dr. David Tall (University of Warwick), and Dr. Gila Hanna (University of Toronto). They will be joined by leading mathematics teachers, as well as mathematicians interested in mathematics education from Israel and abroad, Israel Education Ministry stakeholders, and officials involved in supervising and improving mathematics education.
The conference will include sessions on mathematics education policy; the use of mathematics problem solving in the learning of mathematics; and collaboration between mathematicians and mathematics educators. Key sessions will be simultaneously translated, videotaped and audio recorded. The proceedings and papers will be edited into a book which will be published in 2013. Written summaries will be made available for usage by the Education Ministry and its professional committees responsible for setting and implementing the curriculum.
* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 44