Renowned academics from across the country will meet in Kochi in November to discuss steps to improve mathematics education in the school and the higher education sectors.
The National Initiative on Mathematics Education (NIME) 2011, a southern regional conference on mathematics education to be held from November 11 to 13, will provide an input for the national presentation of India at the International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME) scheduled in Seoul in South Korea from July 8 to 15 next year. The event is being jointly organised by the Kerala Mathematics Teachers Association, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and the Association of Mathematics Teachers of India.
A. Vijayakumar, regional convener and academic secretary of the Kerala Mathematics Teachers Association and faculty member of the Department of Mathematics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, says the programme will bring together on a single platform the important and significant innovations and efforts to improve mathematics education in school and in higher education. This conference aims to build awareness of such efforts in the community of mathematics educators in the southern region — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Kerala. The proceedings of the conference will be an input for a report on the status of mathematics education in India, he said.
Referring to the importance of ICME, Prof. Vijayakumar says the national presentation is one of the important academic activities of ICME.
Representatives from various countries will make presentations on the current status and trends in mathematics education in their regions. Exhibitions and video shows are also held as part of the national presentations.
ICME, which is being held every four years, will discuss the current status and trends in mathematics education research and in the practice of mathematics teaching at all levels. The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI), a constituent of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), has been organising the ICME. Prof. Vijayakumar says the congress will gather a broad spectrum of participants, such as researchers in mathematics education, teacher educators, practising teachers, mathematicians, and others interested in mathematics education.
Stating that mathematics is part of the core curriculum for a wide range of basic and professional courses, Prof. Vijayakumar says that many teachers, educators, and mathematicians have responded to the challenge of teaching mathematics effectively in diverse ways. Some have developed powerful pedagogical approaches or learning materials; some have introduced innovations in their teaching; some have worked with teachers; some with students; and some have taken up research to understand more deeply the teaching and learning of mathematics.
