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MEDIA RELEASE — Mar 10, 2011

Canadian Mathematical Society

MEDIA RELEASE
Mar 10, 2011

EXCEPTIONAL MATHEMATICS EDUCATOR RECOGNIZED

Malgorzata Dubiel to Receive the 2011 CMS Adrien Pouliot Award

Malgorzata Dubiel

OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is pleased to announce that Dr. Malgorzata Dubiel of Simon Fraser University (SFU) is the recipient of the 2011 Adrien Pouliot Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to mathematics education in Canada. The award will be presented at the 2011 CMS Winter Meeting in Toronto.

The Adrien Pouliot Award was inaugurated in 1995 to recognize individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to mathematics education in Canada. The award is named for Adrien Pouliot, the second CMS president, who taught mathematics at Université Laval for 50 years and was instrumental in developing Laval's engineering and science faculty.

"Malgorzata has provided evidence to her colleagues that meaningful and thoughtful engagement in mathematics education can lead to demonstrable improvements in student understanding," said Tom Archibald, Chair of Mathematics at SFU. "Her ideas for improving student outcomes are innovative, concrete and realistic. Following her example, graduate students, mentors and faculty see that excellence in teaching is as central and achievable a goal as excellence in research."

"Malgorzata is a champion for what she believes in: success and joy in doing mathematics, for her students, for her colleagues and especially for women," said Peter Taylor, Chair of the CMS Education Committee which adjudicates the Adrien Pouliot Award.

Throughout her career Malgorzata has been at the forefront of many national mathematics education initiatives. She has served as president of the Canadian Math Education Study Group (CMESG) and was the co-chair of the 2009 Canadian Mathematics Education Forum. She initiated the development of Connecting Women in Mathematics Across Canada (CWiMAC), a workshop for women graduate students in the mathematical sciences which has been held periodically since 2003. She is the organizer of the "Changing the Culture" conference offered by the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) which has run every year since 1998. The conference is for teachers of mathematics at all levels and focuses on changing the culture of how mathematics is taught to better serve students.

Malgorzata is also involved in many initiatives for youth. Along with her colleague Katherine Heinrich, she developed a series of exhibits with hands-on activities called "Math in the Mall" that were displayed in shopping malls in the Vancouver areas, a concept that was later adapted by other universities. In 2001 she began a regional CMS Math Camp in Burnaby and continues to lead the camp today. With her colleague Veselin Jungic, she runs "A Taste of Pi" at SFU, a program of enrichment activities for mathematically inclined students in grades 10 and 11.

Malgorzata's work with students, as well as her observations of her own son's school years, has inspired her to improve mathematics teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Her latest project is a Summer Math Camp for Teachers, which took place for the first time in June 2011 with the theme "Teaching Through Problem Solving." She also works to improve mathematics courses for future elementary school teachers offered at SFU and other universities throughout British Columbia.

Malgorzata Dubiel is a senior lecturer at the Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University. She received her PhD in Mathematics from the University of Warsaw, Poland. Her reputation as a teacher and educator was recognized by the SFU Excellence in Teaching Award (2002), the PIMS Education Prize (2005), the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2008) and the YMCA Women of Distinction Award (2011).

For more information, contact:

Laura Alyea
Communications and Special Projects Officer
Canadian Mathematical Society
(613) 733-2662 ext. 728
commsp@cms.math.ca
or Dr. Peter Taylor, Chair
CMS Education Committee
Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
(613) 533-2390
chair-edc@cms.math.ca

About the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)

The CMS is the national mathematics organization whose goal is to promote the advancement, discovery, learning, and application of mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including: scientific meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics education at all levels. The CMS annually sponsors mathematics awards and prizes that recognize outstanding achievements.