What issues
prevent students in poor countries in Africa and in underserved
communities in the United States from receiving high-quality
mathematics instruction?
Under
the leadership of Dr. Shirley M. McBay, and in collaboration with the
African Mathematical Union, the Quality Education for Minorities
Network (QEM) organized and conducted an international workshop on
mathematics education research during summer 2006 in Dakar,
Senegal, to discuss this question and formulate a collaborative
mathematics education research agenda for Africa and the United
States. With support from the national Science Foundation (NSF) and
additional funding from the John Templeton Foundation, a 19-member
African delegation and a 19-member U.S. delegation identified five
priority areas for collaboration:
the
preparation and professional development of mathematics teachers;
the
role of culture in the teaching and learning of mathematics;
nurturing
mathematical talent;
the
impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on Africa’s human resources,
especially its teacher workforce; and
mathematics
curricula.
The
workshop resulted in a collaborative mathematics education research
agenda for Africa and the United States, as well as an action plan.
The action plan included recommendations to develop opportunities for
research exchange experiences, international student internships in
HIV/AIDS, mathematics training camps for middle and high school
students in the United States, and international conferences focused
on the priority areas.
Workshop
participants included mathematicians, mathematics education
researchers, teacher educators, practitioners, and policy makers. The
African delegation represented 11 African countries. The U.S.
delegation hailed from 10 states, the District of Columbia, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. Collectively, the group represented 36
institutions and organizations that included Historically Black
Colleges and Universities as well as organizations such as UNESCO,
the International Commission for Mathematical Instruction, and the
Partnership for Higher Education in Africa. Approximately 40 high
school students and their coaches from several African countries who
participated in the 2006 Pan African Mathematical Olympiad
competition also attended the workshop
Partner:
John Templeton Foundation
