Chair’s reportALM-24 AGM 2017
1 Acknowledgements
1.1 This is my second year as Chair of ALM Trustees and I must express my thanks to the other Trustees for all the work they have put in to keep the organisation running throughout out the year. I also thank Ciarán Mac an Bhaird for organising the conference last year in Maynooth, Ireland and for leading the editorial group producing the Conference Proceedings and with Javier Diez Palomarthe special edition of the ALM International Journal. Thanks also to all the reviewers who enable us to produce a peer reviewed journal.
1.2 Kees Hoogland, as well as being a Trustee has led the team that has produced the latest conference in Rotterdam. We know there are many others who have enabled this eventto take place, our 24th conference, and we will be able to thank all these people in person at this conference. However I do also put on record my thanks to them all now.
1.3 The Trustees maintain an oversight of the organisation through having monthly (Skype) meetings. In this work I particularly thank the functional officers for all they have done: Beth Kelly, Secretary; Graham Griffiths, Treasurer; and John Keogh, membership secretary.
2 Publishing previous conference proceedings and International Journal
2.1 We have encouraged and supported those working on our publications and preparing the conference. We had taken on completing the publication of the proceedings for ALM 22 (2015) and particular thanks go to Linda Jarlskog for this work. We are sorry for the delay but these proceedings have now been published electronically and we will produce hard copy shortly.
2.2 One of the Trustees’ discussions has concerned getting the balance right between electronic and hard copy publications. The current decision, applying to the current conference is that all delegates (and members) will be sent a pdf of the conference proceedings, and hard copy will be available on request.
3. Membership and communication
3.1 We have also had discussions on how we manage membership payments, the recruitment and retention of members, and regular communication with members. We are an organisation that, though only 25 years old, was established when communication was in person, by post and telephone. We now try to maintain good communication via the website and emails. However, I feel there is much more that should be possible. This can only happen if we have members able and willing to continue to transform how ALM exists in the crowded space of social media.
4. ALM in the wider field
4.1 ALM also contributes to the field of adult mathematics and numeracy in more subtle ways, through the activities of its members in situations where it is not necessarily in the name of ALM. Of particular importance during the last year was the ICME 13 Conference held in Hamburg shortly after the ALM conference. There were many contributions at this conference from very committed ALM members. In one Topic Group there were four previous ALM Chairs plus myself, and another was run by long serving members. However, because of the structure of the conference, ALM was not as visible as it should have been. I also became aware that many contributions were relevant to adult mathematics education but the adult perspective was missing. This has bothered me greatly and I am writing on this elsewhere.
4.2 Also during this year a good number of ALM colleagues have participated in CERME, and again the relevance of the adult field was hidden. The Trustees, led by Kees Hoogland have put in an application to form a new TSG (Thematic Working Group). In the UK the active members participate in a twice yearly forum, National Numeracy and are planning to participate as a group in BCME 9 (the UK version of ICME) in April 2018. In Sweden our colleagues are working on the Mathematics Biennial 2018. We also know that we have colleagues active in the US at the state, regional and national level, a number of whom are presenting at theconference in Rotterdam. I know there must be many more I have not mentioned and I would be very pleased to hear what is happening in your town, region or country.
5. The future of ALM International Journal
5.1 We are also aware that we must maintain and improve our academic standing in mathematics education research. At ALM 24 we have a special discussion group on this organised by Jeff Evans. In conjunction with this we are seeking to improve the editorial arrangements for the ALM International Journal (ALM IJ) and looking for opportunities increase the impact of our academic publications.
David Kaye
June 2107
Treasurer’s reportALM-24 AGM 2017
- As at the 1st June 2017, ALM has assets of £19,188.33. This is an increase of £173.13 from the previous year.
- As noted last year, there has been a recovery in ALM finances from a low point in 2013.
2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017
16,081.95 / 14,948.90 / 16,667.92 / 17,782.69 / 19,015.20 / 19,188.33
- This has come about through dealing with membership in a more systematic way and update and clarification of conference processes and finance. In 2013, we had a low point in membership fee collection (£590) which has grown each year to more than £1300 this year.
- During this year, we paid out bursaries for previous conferences totalling 1847.97 against an income of 924.05 for the conference. There will still be some cost for physical proceedings to be printed and distributed covered by the ALM24 conference organisers.
- The proceedings from ALM22 (Washington) are about to be printed and will need to come from ALM funds. We are asking members to identify whether they would prefer to have the pdf only or an additional printed copy to keep the costs down.
Graham Griffiths
June 2017
Membership Report ALM-24 AGM 2017
- Data
Membership Profile / 2016 / 2017
Fully paid up membership
(excluding membership fees that were included in conference fees) / 48 / 51
Members who included membership in conference fee 2016 / 82
New members 2017 paid membership fees directly / 9
Inactive, historic members (pre-ALM16) / 32 / 32
Total Membership roll (attended at least 1 conference since ALM16, or paid membership fees) / 500
Membership roll profile / 2016 / 2017
Members attending 3 or more conferences of the last 7
(2017 - up to ALM 23; 2016 – up to ALM 22) / 37 / 51
Members attending 2 conferences over the same period
Members attending 1 conference / 75
289 / 78
330
New members this year in anticipation of attending ALM24. / 9
Inactive members fees received / 13 / 0
Members predating ALM 16 (2009) since inactive / 33 / 32
Total membership roll since ALM 16 / 447 / 500
- Commentary
2.1.1The suggestion to invite members to renew their membership at the beginning of each year, regardless of their decision to attend the conference, has not yet produced a noticeable effect. It is worth noting that for some individuals who are funded to attend conferences would find it easier to add the membership fee into a single transaction.
2.1.2The tendency of single attendance persists and maybe worthy of discussion at the AGM, together with the ideas that:
2.1.3Members in good standing who attend the annual conference should be badged to signify their tangible support for the aims and objectives of the organisation
2.1.4ALM should continue to accentuate its aims and objectives and view membership fees as a signal of supportrather than focus on the benefits of being a member,
2.1.5ALM should investigate ways to update contact details of members
2.1.6ALM should look to keep up a momentum through the use ofthe excellent webinars and the regular bulletins to maintain contact with the members in the period between conferences
International Contacts.
AUSTRALIA
Linda Galligan, University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
AUSTRIA and GERMANY
Prof. Dr. Juergen Maasz, University of Linz, Austria.
DENMARK
Lena Lindenskov,Associate Professor, Mathematics Education,Head of Department,Danish School of Education,Aarhus University,B 305, Tuborgvej 164,2400 Copenhagen NV,DK Denmark.
NETHERLANDS and BELGIUM
Kees Hoogland, SLO - Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development, Piet Heinstraat 12, 7511 JE Enschede, the Netherlands
NEW ZEALAND
Phil Kane University of Auckland, Waipu, New Zealand.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Dr Terry Maguire, National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, Dublin 2, Ireland
SWEDEN
Charlotte Arkenback-Sundstrom, Gothenburg University, Sweden
Linda Jarlskog, VIS, Vuxenutbildning i Samverkan, Sweden.
SWITZERLAND
Sonja Beeli-Zimmermann, Universität Bern, Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft, Abteilung Pädagogische, Psychologie, Fabrikstr.8, CH-3012 Bern
UNITED KINGDOM
Diane Dalby, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
USA
Downloadapplication formand send to Dr. Katherine Safford-Ramus, Saint Peter’s College, Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07306, USA
All relevant contact details are available on the ALM website
John J.Keogh, ALM Membership Secretary, June 2017.