CMEF 2005

Working Groups

Mathematics and Society
WG 1a   Mathematics education in the aboriginal community   [Report]
WG 1b   Early numeracy: Developing Mathematical Literacy in the Early Years  
WG 1c   Why is mathematics relevant in our society?   [Report]
WG 1d   Supporting Student Success – Helping students reach their potential   [Report]
 
Mathematics in the Classroom
WG 2a   Creating a curriculum that affords learners opportunity to develop powerful mathematics   [Report]
WG 2b   Learning in the presence of technology   [Report]
WG 2c   Mathematics through the eyes of a child   [Report]
WG 2d   Classroom practice and mathematics education research   [Report]
 
The Mathematics Education Community in Canada
WG 3a   Developing a national mathematics teaching community  
WG 3c   Supporting Teacher Success   [Report]

WG 1a:  Mathematics education in the aboriginal community  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Kanwal Neel, Simon Fraser University and Richmond School District, British Colombia
 Louise Poirier, Université de Montréal, Quebec

Description

One of the recommendations found in the Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development’s National Working Group on Education’s final report is that “post-secondary institutions and teacher education programs adopt multiple strategies to increase substantially the number of Aboriginal secondary school teachers…” (p. 43). The report also identifies the importance of developing culturally relevant curricula, pedagogy and resources that would address the identified weaknesses in mathematics and science. In what way or ways might the mathematics education community in Canada contribute to the development of these curricula, pedagogy, and resources?

Objectives

In this working group the following questions will form a framework for our discussion as to the way(s) in which the mathematics education community in Canada can respond to the identified need within the Aboriginal community.


WG 1b:  Early numeracy: Developing Mathematical Literacy in the Early Years

Working Group Leaders

 Chris Suurtamm, University of Ottawa, Ontario
 Rita Janes, Education associates, Newfoundland

Description

Several provinces have large scale efforts in a direction that they call “early numeracy;” how is early numeracy defined? Are these efforts interventions for “students at risk” at an early age or are the efforts focused on something else? What are the underlying values to these provincial efforts?

Objectives

In this working group the following questions will form a framework as to consider early numeracy in Canada:


WG 1c:  Why is mathematics relevant in our society?  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Elaine Simmt, University of Alberta, Alberta
 Peter Taylor, Queen's University, Ontario

Description

In the conversations leading to the 2005 Forum, the question of the relevance of mathematics for our students often came out as an issue. This working group considers this question in the following way: what is relevant for the general citizen living in our society?

There are different answers to this question, but it is often hard to make the link between these answers and what is done in our classrooms. Teachers say they need more than just reasons why mathematics is important; they need examples that can be worked on in classes.

Objectives


WG 1d:  Supporting Student Success – Helping students reach their potential  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Stewart Craven, Toronto District School Board, Ontario
 Anna Spanik, West Halifax High School, Nova Scotia, and NCTM representative for the Nova Scotia Mathematics Teacher Association

Description

Virtually all jurisdictions across Canada are showing great concern for students who are “at risk” or in other words, are struggling to learn Mathematics. This concern is appropriate because the students that graduate from our schools must be able to cope in a highly technological and information-based world whether they pursue studies in higher education or enter the workforce Even if students are doing well they may not reach their potential in terms of mathematical understanding and may not be able to fully contribute to society. The definition of “at risk” Mathematics students should be broad enough to include those students who are in jeopardy of receiving their high school diploma because they cannot meet the Mathematics course requirements and those students who may be “passing” but are not learning the Mathematics they are capable of learning.

Objectives

This working group should address the following guiding questions:

  1. How can we truly engage students in Mathematics throughout their schooling years?
  2. For those students who are struggling, how can we address their needs so that they can reach their potential?
  3. What initiatives are governments and boards of education from across Canada taking to meet the needs of struggling learners in Mathematics?
  4. Should society (governments, boards of education) provide large amounts of resources so that all high school graduates meet an acceptable "numeracy" standard?

WG 2a:  Creating a curriculum that affords learners opportunity to develop powerful mathematics  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Sophie René de Cotret, Université de Montréal, Quebec
 Richard de Merchant, Alberta Education, Alberta
 Shirley Dalrymple, York Region District School Board, Ontario

Description

As evidenced by recent “back-to-basics” and “teaching-for-understanding” movements, much of the debate about grade school mathematics curricula is organized around the assumption that there is a tension between technical proficiency and conceptual understanding. Is this tension a necessary one? Or is it possible to create a curriculum in which proficiency and understanding are framed in terms of complementary—indeed, codependent—relationship? What sorts of resources and preparations would be needed to ensure the successful introduction of such a curriculum?

We will explore these sorts of questions in this working group. Discussions will be informed by brief presentations of the origins of the proficiency/understanding debate and recent research into the interdependencies of technical competency and conceptual competence.


WG 2b:  Learning in the presence of technology  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Tom Steinke, Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, Ontario
 France Caron, Université de Montréal, Quebec

Description

This working group will bring together mathematics education researchers and mathematics educators from across Canada to explore how research, practice, hardware and software can combine to ensure that learning mathematics does in fact take place in the presence of technology.


WG 2c:  Mathematics through the eyes of a child  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Ann Anderson, University of British Columbia, British Columbia
 Susan Pitre, Toronto District School Board, Ontario

Description

The working group will analyse examples of practices which take Mathematics through the eyes of a child into consideration in a constructive way. The children referred to are meant to be in grades K-8. This analysis will touch upon the following questions.

Objectives

  1. Increase our understanding of the characteristics of activities taking Mathematics through the eyes of a child into consideration in a constructive way, their advantages as well as the obstacles to undertaking such activities.
  2. Come up with some specific recommendations to be shared with the wider mathematics teaching and education community.

WG 2d:  Classroom practice and mathematics education research  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Shannon Sookochoff, Jasper Place High School, Edmonton, Alberta
 Margaret Sinclair, York University, Ontario

Description

The relationship between educational research and educational practice has often been described in terms of separate worlds. The working group is concerned with models and means to bring practice and research into more complementary relationship. The group will consider issues around collaborative projects, teacher-research, communications between groups, and the development of resources.

Objectives

  1. Provide a space where teachers and researchers can discuss this issue together.
  2. Analyse projects of research and teaching, with a view toward articulating a complementary relationship.
  3. Discuss projects and models in which research clearly informs practice and practice informs research.
  4. Develop some recommendations, including means to address the tendency to conceive of teacher-research relationships in terms of hierarchies and gaps.

WG 3a:  Developing a national mathematics teaching community

Working Group Leaders

 Marc Garneau, Surrey School District, and President of BCAMT (British-Columbia Association of Mathematics Teachers), British Columbia
 André Ladouceur, Collège Catholique Samuel-Genest, Ottawa, Ontario
 Liliane Gauthier, Saskatchewan Learning, Saskatchewan

Description

This working group will address the question: in what ways might we develop and sustain a national mathematics teaching community? The interest in developing a national mathematics teaching community developed following the 2003 Forum. Since that time, two meetings have occurred with representatives from different provincial mathematics teachers organizations to discuss the possibility of organizing a national organization for mathematics teachers. The deliberations at these meetings saw value in the development of such an organization, and the Canadian Association for the Teaching of Mathematics (CATM)/Association canadienne pour l’enseignement des mathématques (ACEM) is in the process of being been formed.

Objectives

The focus of this working group will be to identify projects and initiatives that will establish sustainability of the ACEM/CATM.


WG 3c:  Supporting Teacher Success  Report  

Working Group Leaders

 Eric Muller, Brock University, Ontario
 Brent Davis, University of Alberta, Alberta
 Lisa Lunney, We'koqma'q Secondary School, Nova Scotia

Description

This working group will address the question: how do we support teacher success? The aim will be to identify what support the mathematics education community, at the elementary and secondary levels, needs, and to consider those issues that can be addressed at a national level. It is anticipated that members of the working group will represent two constituencies, namely, individuals who are well placed to know the support which is desired that is, teachers, mathematics consultants, mathematics education representatives from ministries of education, etc., and individuals who can assist in the delivery of that support.

It is hoped that participants will provide good examples of mathematics teacher support, both at the elementary and secondary level, which can be shared and considered for generalization to other parts of Canada. Such examples could include individual mathematics courses for teachers being offered across the country, and other in-service, pre-service and professional development activities, discussing how they can be designed to support teachers' success. In particular, the working group will be interested in the mathematical knowledge useful for teaching.

Objectives

There are two specific objectives for this working group:

  1. to engage in a national conversation about these issues,
  2. to recommend a few concrete actions to support teacher success at a national level