ICME-14 Topic Study Group 62: Popularization of Mathematics

There is no doubt that technological tools have greatly impacted our mathematics teaching, learning and research in recent years. The exciting innovative ways of present-ing learning, teaching and research materials on the internet have prompted educators and researchers to rethink the importance of taking global views to solve local problems. In this paper, we use several examples to demonstrate how some abstract mathemati-cal concepts can be conveyed to students through graphical approach. The urgency of conducting collaborative research because of the existence of a solution is simply not ad-equate when computational tools are available nowadays. Furthermore, we emphasize that technology can be implemented e¤ectively to enhance pre-service teachers' content knowledge. Finally, we urge all software and hardware developers to work together to make the learning tools more uniformly accessible. After all, those starting to use techno-logical tools should be concentrating on how m...

Presents a talk on the history of mathematics and mathematics education by comparing the new math era and the current era. Discusses the beliefs of anti-reformers and concerns at the college level. (ASK)

2013

I was delighted to have the opportunity to review three books on a topic near and dear to my heart. In recent years it has become a passion of mine to think of and speak about the place of mathematics in the real world, in the world of those who are not doing mathematics for a living. I care about the applications and the implications of mathematics, but more than that, I care about the feelings and the impressions attached to it. Often math anxiety or skepticism comes up; the latter may be due to how frequently others (mis)use statistics, but the former is often directly related to the way we (mathematicians and math teachers) teach math (see for instance Jo Boaler’s classic What’s Math Got to Do with It?). However, besides the troubles with our pedagogy, I think we as a community help perpetuate several myths about mathematics and reap and enjoy the fruits of our specialness

Acta Scientiae, 2012

Research on students' (and teachers') images of mathematics and mathematicians reveals a number of stereotypical images, most of which are negative. In this paper we present an overview of some these images and stereotypes and consider the questions: (1) how might the image of mathematics and mathematicians be a problem in mathematics education, and (2) what can be done to remedy the situation? Also, we consider an outreach project called Windows into Elementary Mathematics. In this project mathematicians are interviewed about their perspectives on elementary mathematics topics and their interviews are videotaped and are posted online, along with supporting images and interactive content. In this context we consider the questions: (3) what is the Windows project about, and (4) how might it offer an alternate (and perhaps better) image of mathematics and mathematicians? Lastly, we share an example where activities from the project were used in a math-for-teachers course.

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 2015

Mark used to love playing computer games that helped him build his mathematical skills as a kid. Gizem spent years hooked on Tetris and credits all the (still somewhat limited) spatial reasoning skills she has to the game. However, mathematical video games that go beyond simple drills are few and far between. In the first article of this summer issue, Laura Broley, Chantal Buteau, and Eric Muller introduce us to E-Brock Bugs, an epistemic computer game designed for teaching mathematics that goes beyond practicing basic skills and aims to develop the more elusive mathematical intuition.

School mathematics generally reflects neither the ever growing nature of the field, nor the steady struggle of mathematicians for establishing new results. Consequently, high school graduates leave school having the wrong image of mathematics as a discipline in which all answers are known, leaving little room for further exploration. This non-constructive conception of mathematics is henceforth spread around to the public and keeps the majority hating it on the one hand, while blindly admiring those weird ones who find it intriguing, on the other. Interweaving snapshots of mathematical news in the daily teaching of high school mathematics is proposed as a cure. This paper presents five different types of math news illustrated by fascinating and accessible examples for considering their interweaving as snapshots in the teaching of high school mathematics. ESU5 Prague workshop focused on this proposal. Participants collaborated looking for updated math news on the web, discussed the need, values and appropriate pedagogy for introducing math news in the classroom, and considered the dilemma and efforts involved in interweaving snapshots of mathematical news in the daily teaching of high school mathematics. This paper shares the main ideas and calls for international collaboration in coping with the dilemma. It claims the proposed idea to be worth the effort as it fits ESU Aim and Focus statement. Moreover, it is believed that the suggested approach can help boost teachers' ego and self esteem as well as fight speedy burnout, so common among teachers after several years in the profession.

arXiv (Cornell University), 2022

Mathematics enters the period of change unprecedented in its history, perhaps even a revolution: a switch to use of computers as assistants and checkers in production of proofs. This requires rethinking traditional approaches to mathematics education which is struggling through a crisis of its own, socioeconomic and political by its nature. The mathematical community faces Pandora's box of problems, which, surprisingly, are not usually discussed in any connected form. The present paper attempts to address this issue in a bit more joint and cohesive way.

2008

2016

There is widespread acceptance that mathematics is important, for an individual and for society. However there are still those who disagree arguing that the subject is boring and irrelevant. It is therefore crucial that mathematics teaching strives to engage all learners at all levels, without of course sacrificing the rigour and ‘essence ’ of the subject. In this talk, I will argue that one way to achieve both rigour and broader access to mathematics lies with using appropriately designed digital technology. I will illustrate my argument with examples from research and practice.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022