ICM98-CL3: ICMI and ICME-8 (Sevilla, Spain, July 14-21, 1996)
TO ALL MATHEMATICIANS WHO HAVE PRELIMINARILY PREREGISTERED FOR
THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MATHEMATICIANS 1998 IN BERLIN
Third Circular Letter
Subject: ICM98-CL3: ICMI and ICME-8 (Sevilla, Spain, July 14-21, 1996)
Dear colleague:
Please find below information about ICMI, a commission of IMU,
and the 8th International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME),
to be held in Seville, Spain, July 14-21, 1996.
Martin Groetschel
President of the
ICM98 Organizing Committee
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The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction
A commission of the International Mathematical Union
History
The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) was first
established at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rome in 1908
at the suggestion of the American mathematician and historian of mathematics,
David Eugene Smith. The first President of the ICMI was Felix Klein, and the
first Secretary-General was Henri Fehr. From the beginning, L'Enseignement
mathematique, founded by Henri Fehr in 1899, was--and still is--the official
organ of ICMI.
The ICMI met for the first time in Cologne in 1908. Nineteen countries were
considered to be participating, and an additional fourteen were listed as
associated countries. The first efforts of the commission were to survey
teaching practices and the school mathematics curriculum in the member
countries. World War I disrupted the activities of the ICMI, and it remained
relatively dormant until after World War II.
In 1952, the ICMI was reconstituted as a subcommission of the newly created
International Mathematical Union (IMU). The ICMI belongs to, and is
appointed by, the IMU.
As a scientific union, IMU is a member organization, along with nineteen
other scientific unions, of the International Council of Scientific Unions
(ICSU). When ICSU has had a Committee on the Teaching of Science, the IMU
representative on the Committee has been an ex-officio member of the ICMI
Executive Committee.
Structure
The ICMI has two components: the Executive Committee and the National
Representatives. There is one National Representative from each member
nation of the ICMI. IMU countries are automatically members of ICMI, but
non-IMU countries may, on certain conditions, be coopted as members of ICMI
and may appoint National Representatives. At present, there are 66 nations
represented in the ICMI.
The Executive Committee consists of four officers (President, two
Vice-Presidents, and Secretary) plus four further members. Ex-officio
members include the outgoing President of the ICMI and the President and
Secretary of the IMU.
Every four years, the Executive Committee and the National Representatives
meet as the General Assembly of ICMI. The General Assembly is held at the
International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME).
In quite a few countries, national Subcommissions of ICMI have been
established with the dual purpose of providing an organized forum for dealing
with issues of mathematics education at a national level and of offering an
interface between that level and the international mathematics education
community represented by ICMI. If there is a national Subcommission, that
group appoints the National Representative, who usually chairs the
Subcommission.
Affiliated Groups
There are four so-called study groups, each dealing with a particular theme
or topic area, that are affiliated to the ICMI. They are the following:
*HPM (International Study Group for the Relations Between the History and
Pedagogy of Mathematics)
*IOWME (International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education)
*PME (International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)
*WFNMC (World Federation of National Mathematical Competitions)
ICMEs
A major event in the life of the international mathematics education
community is formed by the quadriennial International Congress of Mathematics
Education (ICME). Seven such congresses have been held (in Europe, North
America, and Australia). The most recent was ICME 7 in Quebec, Canada, in
August 1992. The next will be ICME 8 in Seville, Spain, July 14-21, 1996.
ICME-9 will be held in the year 2000 in Japan.
For each ICME, the scientific program is planned by an International Program
Committee appointed by--and including representatives of--the ICMI Executive
Committee, whereas the organizational aspects are taken care of by a Local
Organizing Committee. As each congress presents enormous amounts of
research, investigations, ideas, materials, projects, and so forth, normally
a number of publications having a specific focus and basis in congress work
are published in addition to the congress proceedings.
For information on ICME-8, contact <icme8@obelix.cica.es> by e-mail or see
the Web page at http://icme8.us.es/ICME8.html.
ICMI Studies
In recent years, the ICMI has identified issues or topics of particular
current significance to mathematics educators and has mounted special studies
of these topics. The emphasis of a given study may be on analytical or
action-oriented aspects, but an analytical component should always be
present.
The usual procedure is for the ICMI Executive Committe to appoint an
International Program Committee (IPC). The IPC writes a discussion document
to lay out key issues of the theme in a preliminary fashion. The document is
published in the ICMI Bulletin and in L'Enseignement mathematique,as well as
in other international journals of mathematics education.
The IPC then invites a small number of individuals to attend a study
conference whose goal is to create a working forum for investigating the
theme. Using working papers created by the participants and presentations at
the conference, the IPC puts together a study publication, which may take
different formats but is ordinarily an edited book.
Topics of recent ICMI studies have been Gender and Mathematics Education,
Assessment in Mathematics Education, What Is Research in Mathematics
Education, and What Are Its Results?, and Perspectives on the Teaching of
Geometry for the 21st Century. Plans for a study on The Role of the History
of Mathematics in Mathematics Education are underway.
Regional Meetings
Many people seriously involved in research and development or innovative
practice in mathematics education are not familiar with English to an extent
that makes them feel at ease in a context where English is the dominant
language. Also, financial constraints may make it difficult for people to
travel far from home. Consequently, regional conferences--in Southeast Asia,
Latin America, and Africa--have been organized by groups with an interest in
mathematics education, and the ICMI has co-sponsored and supported several
such meetings.
Executive Committee 1995-1998
President: Miguel de Guzman (Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain)
Vice-Presidents: Jeremy Kilpatrick (University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA)
Anna Sierpinska (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada)
Secretary: Mogens Niss (Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark)
Members: Colette Laborde (Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France)
Gilah Leder (La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia)
Carlos E. Vasco (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia)
Zhang Dianzhou (East China Normal University, Shanghai, China)
Ex-Officio Members: David Mumford (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Jacob Palis, Jr. (IMPA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
ICMI Bulletin
The ICMI Bulletin is distributed through National Representatives. It is
also available electronically from the ICMI Secretary, Mogens Niss, at
<mn@mmf.ruc.dk>.
Further information about ICMI can be found in the IMU server at the URL:
http://elib.zib-berlin.de/IMU
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jeremy Kilpatrick * TEL: (+1) 706 542-4163
105 Aderhold * FAX: (+1) 706 542-5010 or -4551
University of Georgia * E-MAIL: jkilpat@coe.uga.edu
Athens, GA 30602-7124 *
USA *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *