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The 2009 Canadian Mathematics Education Forum (CMEF 2009) will be held in Vancouver, April 30 to May 3, 2009, at the SFU Vancouver Campus, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC. The 2009 Forum is being organized and cosponsored by the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) and by the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).
The Canadian Mathematics Education Forum (CMEF) has met three times: in 1995 (Quebec City, organized by CMS), in 2003 (Montreal: cosponsored by CMS and CRM), and in 2005 (Toronto: cosponsored by CMS and Fields). During the 2005 Forum, the question arose whether we should continue with these meetings. We do have the semi-annual CMS Education sessions and the annual CMESG meetings: is there a need for an additional meeting? And, what would be the purpose of the CMEF?
After extended discussion, and a close look at the successes and recommendations of the three CMEFs, we decided that the Forum should continue, and that it should maintain its valuable collaboration between school-teachers, university/college mathematicians and math educators, and foster significant encounters between all major players in mathematics education, including government, publishers and parents. For CMEF 2009, we proposed that such collaboration should start much earlier than the Forum itself, with the creation of working groups, around which the work of the Forum will centre.
The projects, initiatives, and statements developed during this Forum will be shared widely with teachers, school divisions, universities, colleges, parents, students, policy makers and the general public in a variety of ways.
For further information, please contact Malgorzata Dubiel.
Theme of the 2009 Forum
Almost every province is struggling with mathematics curriculum reform. It is generally felt that "getting it right" is a long-term process that requires sustained work, continuous partnership with teachers from design to implementation and adjustments, consultation with mathematicians and mathematics educators, support for teacher professional learning, access to rich resources, manageability and coherence of assessment policies and practices.
"Curriculum" in its many dimensions emerged as a recurring theme in the previous CMEFs. With a view to address some of the main concerns and challenges that were expressed there, it was decided to have the 2009 Forum focus on the ways in which resources and assessment define, inform and mould curriculum. This objective requires the participation and collaboration of people involved at the many relevant constituencies: the school systems, teachers at all levels, coordinators, school boards, colleges and universities, mathematics and statistics departments, faculties of education, Ministries of Education, parent groups and business and industry.
