MATHEMATICS EDUCATION FORUM

FIELDS MATHEMATICS EDUCATION FORUM
MINUTES - February 28, 2004

Present: Rob Andrews, Enzo Carli, Christy Conte, Gord Doctorow, Gary Flewelling, George Gadanidis, Kenning Marchant, Dragana Martinovic, Eric Muller, Mollie O'Neill, David Poole, Sarah Rainsberger, Pat Rogers, Tom Salisbury, Riaz Saloojee, Tom Sepp, Margaret Sinclair, Chris Suurtamm, Peter Taylor, Walter Whiteley

1. Reports
OAME, OMCA, OCMA
CMS Forum 2005 (Bradd Hart)
--Tentative theme of meeting: "Why teach mathematics?"
Engaging the Ministers (Kenning Marchant)
--Important to be well-informed before approaching minister with studies rather than anecdotal evidence
--How to use Fields to identify members' areas of expertise?
--When contacting minister, important to identify Fields Forum as a resource, not a lobby group
Manifesto (Walter Whiteley)

2. The mathematics education of elementary school teachers
- Presenters:
Eric Muller, Brock
--When technology was introduced, students were more willing to ask questions, because the threat was shifted onto the technology
Trevor Brown, TDSB
--Described experience with training course for grade 7 and 8 teachers who were teaching math without prerequisites
--On a grade 10 test, teachers got 15-50%, but needed 70%+ to take the course; this meant that the prerequisites for the class were higher than those necessary to teach, as these teachers continued teaching without having taken the course
--Many became fixated on the test and afraid of failure
--Download course outline in PDF format here.
David Poole, Trent
George Gadanidis, UWO
-Once teachers understand the complexity of math and how to teach it properly, it can become intimidating
-Importance of seeing students with their peers; socializing math
Download presentation in PDF format here.
Margaret Sinclair, York
Download presentation in PDF format here.
Enzo Carli, Waterloo
-Discussed the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing at the University of Waterloo.
http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca

3. Discussion:
What mathematics knowledge do elementary teachers need to teach mathematics? How does this affect their teaching? What can be done about it? What is the role of pre-service, in-service and continuing teacher education? What models/research might be useful in designing a mathematics education program for elementary teachers?

4. Possible topics for future meetings
- Current mathematics education research. What would it be interesting to hear about?
- other suggestions?