The 2005 Canadian
Mathematics Education Forum (CMEF2005) is organized by the
Canadian Mathematics Society (CMS).
The Forum will be held May 6-8, 2005 at
the University of Toronto with some activities at the nearby Fields
Institute. This Forum follows the one held in 2003
in Montreal. The
2005 Forum is the third organized by the CMS, the
first national forum in mathematical education
being held in Quebec in May 1995.
The purpose of the 2005
invitational forum is to develop a national on-going conversation,
among educators at all levels of schooling, about important issues
and concerns in the development and future of mathematics education
in Canada. The overall theme of the 2005 Forum is "Why teach
Mathematics?" The Forum is thought of as a working meeting and will
include plenary panel sessions and talks as well eleven working
groups.
The Forum will bring
together some 200 participants coming from all sectors connected to
education in mathematics and from all the provinces and territories
of Canada:
Teachers and
instructors of mathematics at all the levels
Researchers in
mathematics and mathematics education
Consultants and
education advisers
Representatives of
associations of teaching and teachers of mathematics
Representatives of
the provincial ministries for education
Representatives of
other groups having a particular interest for the teaching of
mathematics: industry representatives, parents, administrators,
editors, textbook writers etc.
The participation in the
Forum is by invitation.
It is the intent that
groups working together in this forum will develop projects,
initiatives, and statements
that will outline ways in which Canadians
may address these issues and concerns. The projects, initiatives, and
statements developed during this forum will be shared widely with
policy makers, school divisions, universities, colleges, parents,
students, and the general public in a variety of ways.
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Public Lecture |
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The public lecture will be given by Stephen Lewis on Friday, May 6,
from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. The public lecture will be held in the Medical
Sciences Auditorium MS2158.
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Plenaries |
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Opening Panel -
Friday May 6, 9:00 - 10:00
Location: Earth Sciences Auditorium ES1050
Why
Should we be Talking Together and Why Should the Focus of our Talk Be
Mathematics?
As we initiate our
conversation about mathematics education, we can ask ourselves why
mathematics is so important to us and why we think it should be
important to others and to the society at large. This is of course a
very important and immensely complex question.
Furthermore, as we
are gathered together in this Forum, it should be because we feel
that we can achieve more together than alone. Is working together in
Canada really so important? If so, how can we achieve this? What have
we done and how can we move forward?
Our four speakers
will address these questions, each presenting us with a different
perspective.
Panelists
- Pam Hagen, Westwood
Elementary, British Columbia
- Eric Muller, Brock University,
Ontario
- Christiane Rousseau, Université
de Montréal, Quebec
- Lee Wilson,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan
Second Panel -
Friday May 6, 3:45 - 5:00
The
Complexity of Knowing Mathematics for Teaching School Mathematics
It seems to be
assumed that teaching mathematics at the elementary level is not very
demanding in terms of one's own mathematical understanding. This is
demonstrated, for instance, by the generally small portion of the
elementary teacher preparation curriculum addressing mathematical
understanding. Similarly, popular wisdom is that anyone with a
science degree ought to be able to teach mathematics at the secondary
level.
Throughout Canada,
there are many examples which illustrate what can be achieved when
serious consideration is given to the mathematical knowledge needed
by teachers in their teaching. In particular, it can be argued that
mathematics for teaching is different from mathematics for the
mathematician or the engineer.
We have brought together
four speakers who will address this issue.
Panelists
- Brent Davis,
University of Alberta, Alberta
- Ruth Dawson,
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Ontario
- Caroline Lajoie, Université
du Québec à Montréal, Quebec
- Marie Thomson,
Halifax Regional School Board, Nova Scotia
Third Panel -
Saturday May 7, 1:45 - 3:15
The
Complexity of Building Communities Interested in Mathematics
Education
The Canadian context
in education, as in many other areas, is a varied one. Throughout our
country, there are different curricula, many languages, and vastly
diverse cultures. As individuals, gathered at this Forum, we are
representative of the Canadian context as we come from different
constituencies and our interests and expertise vary greatly. Is it
realistic to try to work together on the improvement of mathematics
education in Canada?
It seems that in
some countries, mathematicians, mathematics educators and teachers
have developed greater cooperation than in Canada. It is even true
that the Nordic countries are collaborating on many educational
projects, as was displayed at the last International Congress on
Mathematical Education (ICME-10, Denmark, July 2004). What are the
elements needed for such cooperative endeavours? What can we learn
from them?
Our speakers are
Mogens Niss, ex Secretary-general of ICMI (International Commission
on Mathematical Instruction) and Chair of the International Programme
Committee of ICME-10, and Florence Glanfield, who besides co-chairing
this Forum is a strong advocate for forming an organization such as
the Canadian Association for the Teaching
of Mathematics.
Sharing
successes - Friday May 6, 1:55 - 3:30
The session is
devoted to providing a series of opportunities for sharing Success
Stories of projects and initiatives in mathematics education across
Canada. A detailed program will be available at the Forum.
Working
group reports - Sunday May 8, 9:00 - 10:15
This plenary session
is devoted to a brief presentation by each of the working groups (5
minutes each).
Closing
session - Sunday May 8, 10:30 - 12:00
In this plenary
session, participants will be invited to give their input regarding
the working group reports as well as suggestions for follow-up. The
session will be concluded by some closing remarks from the Chairs of
the 2005 Forum.
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Opening |
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The Forum officially begins with Opening Remarks at 8:30 am on Friday,
May 6 in the Earth Sciences auditorium on the campus of the University
of Toronto. You can see a map of the campus at http://www.osm.utoronto.ca/map/.
The Earth Sciences building is the one marked ES and is most easily
accessed from the lane called Bancroft Ave.
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Social Events |
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There will be early registration on Thursday, May 5 from 5-7 pm at the
Fields Institute, located at 222 College St. on the second
floor. During registration there will be a small welcoming reception
with cash bar at the Institute. Please come along.
On
Friday, May 6 from 5-6 pm, the Canadian Mathematical Society will host
a reception in the lobby of the Earth Sciences Auditorium where the
majority of Forum activities will be taking place.
On
Saturday, May 7, the Forum banquet will be held at Bright Pearl
Seafood Restaurant on 348 Spadina Avenue beginning at 7 pm; a cash bar
will precede the banquet at 6:30. The banquet menu includes both
vegetarian and meat choices, participants with additional dietary
restrictions should let us know at:
cmsforum@fields.utoronto.ca
before
May 1. Participants wishing to purchase additional tickets to the
banquet can do so during early registration and on the first day of
the forum.
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Exhibits |
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Canadian Mathematical Society, Ottawa, Ontario
IBM, Markham, Ontario
Pearson Education Canada, Toronto, Ontario
Statistics Canada, Toronto, Ontario
Texas Instruments, Toronto, Ontario
Wiley and Sons, Toronto, Ontario
Exhibitor Presentations: During lunchtime on Friday, May 6, participants are invited to attend by the following exhibitors:
Wiley and Sons 12:40 - 1:10
IBM 1:10 - 1:40
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Invitations |
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The 2005
Forum aims to gather participants who represent the mathematics
education landscape of Canada. The invitation list was drawn up from
suggestions made by teacher organisations, program committee members
and the Canadian Mathematical Society.
If
you would like to be invited to take part in the Forum, please write
to Bradd Hart at hartb@mcmaster.ca
as we will possibly be able to issue more invitations than those
initially made. Please indicate briefly why you wish to attend and if
you require financial support. Note that this does not guarantee that
you will receive an invitation.
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Registration |
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Only invited participants may register for the Forum. An
on-line
pre-registration form is available.
Registration starts on Friday at 7:30 am in the lobby of the Earth Science
building (marked ES on the map).
Early registration and a reception will be held on
Thursday, May 5 at the Fields Institute located at 222 College St. on
the second floor (the building marked FI on the
map)
which runs from 5 - 7 pm. The registration fee for the
meeting is $200 and is payable either by cheque made out to the
Canadian Mathematical Society or by credit card.
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Accommodation |
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89 Chestnut Residence Toronto
(see below for on-line booking)
The
look and feel of a hotel and the economy of a residence.
This
University of Toronto residence is located in the heart of downtown
with Toronto's visually-famous City Hall and Nathan Phillip's
Square as direct neighbors. This is a Non-Smoking facility;
housekeeping twice per 7 day stay. Rooms have a private bathroom, but
no TV is provided. Local calls are free, personal calling cards are
required for long-distance calls. Full payment is required on check
in. The CMS Forum site residence is bout 15 minutes walk to the CMS
Forum site.
RESERVATIONS
PROCEDURE
All
reservations must be made by April 10, 2005. Rooms will be
released to general booking after this date.
Rates: CAN$79.00
single/$89.00 double (plus tax approx. 12%); price includes a
continental breakfast, a full breakfast is available for an
additional $5 per person.
To use the on-line
booking system click HERE
and
1) Click
"create a new account"
2) enter the approval code "CMS
Forum"
3) you will be prompted for contact and credit card
information and then will be able to book your accommodation.
Reservations
can also be made by calling 416-977-0707 ext. 8194.
Further
information can be found on the
housing web page of The Fields Institute.
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Child Care |
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Temporary Child Care Suggestions
Please note that the CMS is not in a position to recommend
childcare and assumes no liability for the services of the childcare
centres listed. This listing is for information only. The following
links are Toronto companies that offer services of
temporary child care:
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Computer Services |
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Computer Services: Fields Institute, 222 College Street
Hours: Friday May 6, 9am - 5pm; Saturday May 7, 12:30 - 1:30
p.m. only
Computer accounts are available to CMS Forum participants at Fields, see the
Members Liaison in Room 328 on Friday if you require a computer account.
Accessing Your Email, the Web, or an Account at your Home Institution
If you need to connect via telnet or ssh (also called slogin) to a
remote system at your home institution (e.g. to check your email), you
can use one of the public Windows or Macintosh computers at Fields ,
in the computer lab on the main floor or on the second floor by the
stair case (see the sign beside the machine for login instructions and
obtain the "public windows/macintosh password" from the
Members Liaison in room 328 or from reception), or you can use one of
the Linux terminals or workstations by entering a special
"telnet/SSH only" login id and password which you can obtain
from the Members Liaison in room 328 or from reception. For browsing
the web or accessing web-based email, the public Windows or Macintosh
computers should be sufficient.
Laptops
For wireless connection, simply use a 'wireless key' that can be
picked up from the Members Liaison in room 328 or at reception.
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Travel |
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For travel information, please consult the directions
to the Fields Institute and the map of the
University of Toronto.
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Parking |
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Parking is available underground at the BCIT building (entry on
Huron St. - see #19 on map,
just north of College Street).
Note that the Forum is taking place
at Huron and Bancroft Street 1 1/2 blocks north of the parking garage.
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Campus Security |
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Police & Emergency Assistance (from the University of
Toronto campus police):
General Campus inquiries: (416) 978-2323
For campus police: (416) 978-2222
Dial 9- 911 for emergencies.
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Partners |
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- Canadian Mathematical Society
- Alberta Education
- Fields Institute
- Ministère de L'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport du Québec
- University of Saskatchewan
- Nova Scotia Department of Education
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
- Yukon Department of Education
- McMaster University
- Centre de recherches mathématiques
- Institut des sciences mathématiques
- Toronto District School Board
- Ontario Ministry of Education
- Saskatchewan Learning
- Nunavut Department of Education
- Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society
- Statistical Society of Canada
- Université Laval
- Nova Scotia Mathematics Teachers' Association
- Ontario Association for Mathematics Education
- BC Association of Mathematics Teachers
- Saskatchewan Mathematics Teacher Society
- Association Mathématique du Québec
- Groupe des responsables en mathématiques au secondaire
