Workshop of ICSU Focal Points in Latin America and the Caribbean

Panel: Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Priority Area: Mathematics Education

Lilliam Alvarez Díaz Member of ICSU RCLAC (Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean)

Merit Member of the Cuban Academy of Scienceslilliam@ceniai.inf.cu

• ICSU - Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is the only regional office that has included improving the teaching of Mathematics as a key line to contribute to sustainable economic and social development…

• It was the Mexican Mathematician José Antonio de la Peña the developer and leader of this initiative. The former President of the ICSU Regional Committee, has offered continued leadership and guidance to the initiative.

• It is known that nowadys, world development and international competition depends on

Education of citizens and

Investment in Science and Technology.

• But Why Mathematics? , How to explain to decision makers, scientists, other professionals who have to draw attention to the importance of this discipline for development?

- Without Mathematics there are no Statistics , indexes, indicators to measure development or Policy impact .

-Mathematics is necessary for the development of the common citizen, to develop, to understand many facets of the world in which we live, from banking, to interpret a graph or to do the simplest operation in a grocery.

-Without Mathematics there are not Climate change studies or databases and analysis for biodiversity or models to predict hurricane tracks . The great advances of the twentieth centuries and so far the 21st were possible by the development of Physics whose language is Mathematics.

-Furthermore, the Method and the development of abstract thinking that is acquired during the process of Mathematical learning, is essential to promote and develop other sciences and technologies and also for decision making at different scales.

• Periodic reports of the UNDP on "Technological advancement" in different countries, use an indicator called Specialized knowledgments , explaining that is indispensable that countries have a critical mass of citizens with expertise to ensure technological dynamism. Both creators and users of new technologies need skills.

• Current technologies require skills to master the constant stream of new innovations. This capacity depends on the basic education necessary to develop cognitive skills and abilities in science and Mathematics.

"Technological advancement" - indicator Specialized knowledgments ,

Two indicators are used to reflect the specialized knowledge required to create and absorb innovations:

• 1. Average years of schooling and • 2. Gross enrollment rate in studies of Science,

Mathematics and Engineering tertiary students

This means that if a country hopes to have " Technological advancement " must necessarily strengthen the teaching of Mathematics.

ICSU-ROLAC Steps:• 2010: A FIRST ANNUAL

REPORT ON MATHEMTICS EDUCATION

• A CALL FOR ACTION OF THE PROFESSIONAL MATHEMATICIANS WITH THE TEACHERS

• General coordinator: Alice Rangel de Paiva Abreu

OUR REGIONAL CONTEXT:• The fundamental problems we face are the bad

results obtained by children and young people in our region are due to poor training of teachers and the lack of priority given to this discipline from education policies.

• Another problem is the lack of integration between scientists working in different lines Matemática and Mathematics teachers .

• Encourage girls to pursue the dream of becoming teachers or researchers in this discipline will be a way to incorporate that 50 % of female talent to increase the critical mass .

Pruebas de Matemática de la UNESCO a alumnos de tercero y sexto grado,

muestran los resultados generales por puntuaciones

medias por países y se observa que son pocos los

que obtienen puntuaciones por encima de la media (500):

Cuba, Uruguay, Costa Rica, México y Chile. Más distantes aparecen

Argentina y Brasil, lo que refleja una pésima situación en un universo de 16 países donde se aplican los tests.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), examines not only knowledgments in Sciences but also Reading on Sciences. Only 7 countries of Latin America participate in these contests. The results published in 2012 of PISA survey, showed that Assian students obtain the best performance in the solution of Mathematical problems and in a second places are Canadá, Australia and Finland. Germany and USA are in average positions and in the last places are Chile, Brasil and Colombia –

The last ICSU-ROLAC meeting on Math Education, held in Santiago de Chile, resulted in the definition of the following strategies for the region:

1.Realization of massive-scale Olympiads. Math Olympiads are restricted in most of the world to students that have already shown special abilities for mathematics. Such Olympiads do not appear to have wide impact on Math education. Brazil has implemented a successful massive-scale Math Olympiad involving most students in levels 6-12 of public schools which demonstrated positive social impact.

2. Initial teacher training: Deficient initial Math training of school teachers is a common problem. ICSU and Regional networks of scientists and educators could influence National Policies. Chile, Cuba El Salvador, Costa Rica have already taken initiatives in this regard.

3. Continuing education for teachers: A long term project in Mathematics Education, including Master in Sciences degrees should include initiatives to aim effective results.

4. Repository of Education materials: The SBM has made an effort to build its digital library. It provides links to already existing educational resources. The UNAM in Mexico has also created a repository with links to didactic resources.

Meeting in the Institute fo Pure and Applied Mathematics, Rio deJaneiro, June 2013

Working group:• Manuel Limonta (Director of ICSU-ROLAC), • Marcelo Viana (Vice President SBM, Brazil),• José Antonio De la Peña (President of the Commission for Developing

Countries (CDC) of the International Mathematical Union, IMU, Mexico),

• Vanderlei Horita (Secretary SBM, Brazil), • Lilliam Alvarez (Member of the ICSU-ROLAC regional Committee, Cuba),• Yuriko Baldin (Member-at-large Executive Committee of the

International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, ICMI),• Patricio Felmer (Member of the ICSU-ROLAC Regional Committee,

Chile), • Victor Giraldo (ICMI representative from Brazil), • Angela Guzmán (Scientific Officer, ICSU-ROLAC),

Some considerations, 2013:• The core issue in the Region is considered to be the

initial and continued training of Math teachers and the associated involvement of mathematicians in this endeavor.

• Former ICSU reports and Brazilian studies show a large deficiency in teacher preparation and sketch an ambitious program for the improvement of Math Education at all school levels.

• ICSU has promoted Regional Meetings for diagnosis and planning of activities to be undertaken in the region during the coming years.

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR ICSU-ROLAC:

• In Rio there was agreement on the need for coordination between ICMI and ICSU-ROLAC initiatives in all areas of mutual interest. Both organizations should stimulate the participation of local institutions (universities, research and education centers, and governmental agencies) in capacity building to achieve further support and continuity of other initiatives.

• ICSU-ROLAC should promote the realization of special sessions on Math education within the EMALCA schools. These sessions should have active participation of Mathematicians, Math educators, and teachers.

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR ICSU-ROLAC: • We need active participation and commintment of the

Mathematical Societies in the Region. • In countries lacking Mathematical Societies, ICMI and ICSU-

ROLAC can approach the organizations in charge of the local Mathematics Olympiads.

• ICSU-ROLAC should promote the participation of Mathematicians in universities and Research institutions in the continued education of teachers. Successful experiences like that of Brazil and that of the University of Guanajuato should serve as example.

• ICSU-ROLAC could help integrate and further develop the various initiatives of creating repositories of resources for math education and facilitate the sharing of links, experiences, teaching materials, and literature.

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR ICSU-ROLAC: • ICSU-ROLAC should serve as a Math Education advocate for decision-

making persons and establish communication channels with education ministries, organisms for science and technology, mathematical societies, academies of sciences, and associations for the advancement of science.

• ICSU-ROLAC should establish contacts and closer links to other international organizations that could be supportive of its Math education initiative (IANAS, OEA, JICA, TWAS, ICTP, BID, etc.)

• ICSU-ROLAC should foster international collaboration for the improvement of math education by collaborating in the construction and strengthening of regional networks on math education.

• ICSU-ROLAC should establish and promote links between math education and other ICSU-ROLAC programs (risk management, sustainable energy, biodiversity) emphasizing the need to interface actively with initiatives linked to the Future Earth Program, and their implementation in the Region.

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR ICSU-ROLAC: • ICSU-ROLAC should serve as a Math Education advocate for decision-

making persons and establish communication channels with education ministries, organisms for science and technology, mathematical societies, academies of sciences, and associations for the advancement of science.

• ICSU-ROLAC should establish contacts and closer links to other international organizations that could be supportive of its Math education initiative (IANAS, OEA, JICA, TWAS, ICTP, BID, etc.)

• ICSU-ROLAC should foster international collaboration for the improvement of math education by collaborating in the construction and strengthening of regional networks on math education.

• ICSU-ROLAC should establish and promote links between math education and other ICSU-ROLAC programs (risk management, sustainable energy, biodiversity) emphasizing the need to interface actively with initiatives linked to the Future Earth Program, and their implementation in the Region.

MATH EDUCATION ICSU-ROLAC AGENDA:• 2010- First ICSU-ROLAC Report• 2012- Workshop of Mathematicians

in the Mathematical teaching in the School, Chile.• 2013-Working Group in IMPA, Brasil• 2014- January, Banff International Meeting,

Ontario, Canada• 2014 – Workshop on Mathematical teaching, El

Salvador• 2015- January, Workshop on Mathematical

teaching, La Habana • 2015 – Workshop in Dominican Republic

•

• ICSU-ROLAC should explore a Proposal for Standards in Mathematics in the Region for the initial training of primary and secondary school math teachers. The objective is the preparation of a reference document with participation of representatives of several countries in the region (mathematicians and math educators), UNESCO (Oficina Regional de Educación de la UNESCO para América Latina y el Caribe OREALC/UNESCO Santiago), ICMI, ICSU-ROLAC, and other organizations. The Chilean experience on elaboration of Math standards could serve as starting point.

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR ICSU-ROLAC:

BEST EXPERIENCES:

Brazil:

Chile: Libros de la colección de Recursos para la formación inicial de profesores de educación

básica en Matemáticas.Primary Mathematics Standards for Pre-Service Teachers in Chile: A Resource Book for Teachers and Educators (Series on Mathematics Education) [Hardcover] by Patricio Felmer, Renato Lewin, Salome Martinez, Cristian Reyes, Leonor Varas, Eugenio Chandia, Pablo Dartnell, Alejandro Lopez, ClaudGloria Schwarzeio artinez, Arturo Mena, Andres Ortiz, Gloria Schwarze, Pierina Zanocco Be the first to review this item

Cuba: Low cost festivals

in open places

Sofia Kovalievskaia Prizes to young women in Exact

Sciences

Mexico: La Ciencia en tu Escuela, el Concurso de Primavera de Matemáticas , “Competencia Cotorra de Matemáticas”

Web www.lacienciaentuescuela.amc.edu.mx

SEGUNDO TALLER INTERNACIONAL DEL ICSU SOBRE LA ENSEÑANZA DE LAS

MATEMÁTICAS EN AMERICA LATINA

EL SALVADOR -2014

Matemática y Desarrollo

La Habana, 5 y 6 de Enero de 2015

THE FOURTH EDITION WILL BE HELD IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN JUNE, 2015.

One of the main results was to see and share the Cuban experiences in the preparation of the Teachers for Mathematics

(The Curricula and the obligation of a BSc. for all the teachers)

• ABC • ICSU ROLAC • ISSC WORKSHOP

“Society and Nature: Dialogue between natural and social scientists on the challenges of

sustainability” • Jacob Palis (President ABC, Brazil) • Heide Hackmann (Executive Director ISSC) • Gordon McBean (President ICSU)

• Session 1: The Social Responsibility of Science and the Challenges of the Present

• Session 2: Future Actions in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Contribution of ICSU ROLAC

• Session 3: Sustainability – the Contribution of the Social and Natural Sciences

• Session 4: Science for Policy: a Dialogue with Decision Makers• Session 5: Management of Environmental Conflicts in Several Contexts • Session 6: Panel. Science and Politics in the context of Latin America and

the CaribbeanEXCELLENT EXPERIENCE THAT NEED TO BE MULTIPLY

IANAS CENSUS SURVEY• What Measures do you Think Would be Most Effective to

Encourage Young Women to Enter a Career in Science?This question elicited many answers and the most often mentioned was that encouragement should be provided through schools by teachers, counselors and

other educational officers. The provision of role models for young women students was also considered important and it was specifically noted that there

should be increased interaction between established women in science and younger women and students in order to make them more aware of the life

stories of women scientists and technologists. Another set of answers stated that governments should take a bigger role in implementing policies directed to

scientific and technological programs. Providing more funding to schools and universities to promote science education was considered an important step.

Eliminating political discrimination and bias in the allocation of research was also mentioned. Identifying the barriers against women's participation such as

discrimination in Science, Technology and in particular Physics and Mathematics was referred to, as was the need for non-sexist and inclusive language policies.

Women for Science: Inclusion and Participation in IAP Member

Science Academies

A Survey of IAP: The Global Network of Science

AcademiesMembers

• Women in Mathematics: barriers, advancements and new perspectives

To be held in BIRS- Oaxaca, Mexico, August, 2016.

UN Women and Global Fund for Women

To call on governments and the UN system to ensure that girls and women are at the center of scientific and technological revolutions.

• Also a strong recommendation is to include Gender perspectives, and in particular to focalize Women in Sciences, in the Strategy, Progranmmes and actions of ICSU and ICSU-ROLAC also.

• The role of Women in Sciences has to be more visible and prioritize in an International Council for Sciences, as ICSU is.

• We are not only the half of the Humankind, but are the mothers of the other half, and our role will be crucial not only for Sciences but for the Future of the Earth.

Conclusions• From ICSU -ROLAC concrete actions have been

drawn and we strongly hope that the medium and long term and we will change significantly improving the landscape of ;athematics in our Region .

• We have been gaining step by step the convincement that Mathematics, and basic sciences in general, are pillars if a country aspires to have economical, social, sustainable development.

IMPORTANCE OF THE RELATIONMATHEMATICS – MATH EDUCATION

FOR THE OTHER ICSU PRIORITIES IN THE REGION

• Biodiversity • Sustainable Energy • Disaster Risk Reduction

Mathematics plays a central role in the scientific effort to understand dynamic processes in our planet, including those involving the effect of human activities, in particular sustainable energy. Mathematical models and indicators are at the core of analysis, planning and monitoring of sustainable development, environmental changes, food and water supply, and risk management. The Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE) Program encourages research in this regard and the outreach by educators of all levels to inform the public about the challenges to our planet and the essential role of the Mathematical sciences in identifying and helping to facing them.

HavanaHavana CityCity

lilliam@ceniai.inf.cu