First Announcement & Call for Papers
International Symposium
Policy and Practice in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Grades
Le Meridien Commodore Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon
November 8-10, 2006
Call For Papers
The Science and Math Education Center, in the Department of Education, at the American University of Beirut (AUB), in partnership with the Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project will host an International Symposium on Policy and Practice in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning in the Elementary Grades November 8-10, 2006 in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Symposium is organised by Dr. Marjorie Henningsen of the AUB: with support from SMEC faculty and Dr. Madeleine Long of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA, in cooperation with Professor Fayez Mina, Ain Shams University, Cairo, d Dr. Alan Rogerson, - joint coordinators of the Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project.
The major goals of the International Symposium are: (a) to share innovative, unique and creative solutions for enacting reform in the areas of elementary mathematics and science teacher preparation and development, school organization, policy, and classroom practices; (b) to document and widely disseminate ideas presented at the symposium; (c) to initiate new and creative solutions to endemic problems; and (d) to initiate discussion of a grant proposal to enact and study the enactment in international “hothouse” school settings of some of the innovative ideas presented in the Symposium.
All Symposium events will be held in the Le Meridien Commodore Hotel (see below). The Opening Plenary and Welcome Reception will take place on the evening of November 8. Other symposium sessions will take place all day on November 9 and 10. Participants are also strongly encouraged to submit proposals for the Tenth Annual Regional Science and Mathematics Educators Conference (SMEC) to be held immediately following the Symposium on November 11-12, 2006 on the campus of the American University of Beirut (see the Call for Proposals attached or at Concurrent with both events there will be a Publishers Exhibition held on the AUB campus.
The Program Committee for the International Symposium invites science and math education university faculty, and science and math teachers, coordinators and administrators from all countries to submit proposals to be reviewed for possible inclusion in the International Symposium Program. Proposals are sought in the following areas (the areas are elaborated in more detail in the next section:
Teacher preparation and ongoing development
Policy initiatives
School organization
Classroom practices
Completed proposals are due no later than June 1, 2006. Acceptance notifications for proposals received on time will be completed by June 15, 2006. Late proposals may not be considered for inclusion in the program. All accepted proposals will be eligible for inclusion in the written proceedings. However, only the six most unique and creative proposals from each of the four areas above will be selected for live presentation in the symposium sessions. [Accepted proposals not chosen for live presentation in the symposium may optionally be presented in the 10th Annual Science and Mathematics Educators Conference to be held on November 11-12 on the AUB campus.]
Symposium Themes and Session Formats
The focus of all sessions is on innovative, unique and creative practices and solutions to the problems we face as we try to have a positive impact on student learning in the context of worldwide reform in mathematics and science education in the elementary grades. Four half-day sessions will be divided into two phases each: (1) Sharing ideas and (2) Discussion and Idea Development.
All presenters will be given a maximum of 15 minutes to describe their innovative practice(s) and highlight how it has worked in their respective countries and professional settings. Each presentation should be structured as follows: (1) Statement of the problem or obstacle that spurred the innovation; (2) description of the solution/innovation; (3) description/evidence of the extent to which the innovation was successful with respect to the targeted problem/obstacle; and (4) possibilities for transfer to different environments. After individual sharing is completed, there will be open discussion facilitated by a session moderator. Below is an elaborated description of the four symposium themes:
TEACHER PREPARATION AND ONGOING DEVELOPMENT
This session will focus on ideas and solutions related to the recruitment, preparation, and ongoing development of teachers. The focus here could be expanded to also include programs for retaining good teachers, ways of conceptualizing the job of teaching, innovative ways of thinking about job trajectories in the teaching profession (i.e., who teaches, when, and for how long), ways of addressing issues of content knowledge and specialization, changing teacher beliefs and attitudes; or addressing language proficiency.
POLICY INITIATIVES
This session will focus on policy initiatives at the national, regional, or local levels that have been undertaken to solve problems in a systemic fashion. These could be related to (but not limited to) labor, funding, curriculum, and assessment policies.
SCHOOL ORGANIZATION
This session will focus on ideas and solutions related to the way schools organize themselves to maximize student learning, including but not limited to: instructional leadership and learning communities; governance and decision making; who teaches what; teacher planning/meeting time; teaming and supervisory structures; parent involvement; multi-grade classroms; organization of laboratories and technology resources; and school scheduling.
CLASSROOM PRACTICES
This session will focus on ideas and solutions with respect to teaching and learning practices within the classroom including, but not limited to: methods of addressing students’ affect and belief systems; building classroom learning communities; ways of promoting scientific discourse; innovative assessment and grading practices; language use in bilingual settings; or selection, creation, and adaptation of good learning tasks.
Tentative Symposium Programme:
All events at Hotel Le Meridien Commodore Hotel
Wednesday November 8 / 5:00-6:30pm / Welcome and Opening Plenary6:30pm - / Reception (cocktails and hot and cold appetizers)
Thursday November 9 / 8:00am – 12:00pm / Teacher Preparation
1 morning and 1 afternoon break plus lunch / 1:00pm - 3:30pm / Classroom Practices Part I
3:45 -5:00 pm / Classroom Practices Part II
Friday November 10 / 8:00 am – 11:00am / School Organization
1 morning and 1 afternoon break plus lunch / 11:15am-1:00pm / Policy Initiatives I
2:00pm-3:00pm / Policy Initiatives II
3:30pm-5:30pm / Wrap-up Session (Cross-session discussion and Map out strategic plan for developing a proposal)
6:30pm / Gala Dinner
Optional touristic excursions can be arranged up to Wednesday, and/or Saturday and Sunday—more information later
Saturday/Sunday
November 11-12 (optional) / SMEC Conference follows at the American University of Beirut
ABOUT LEBANON AND TRAVEL TO LEBANON
Lebanon is a small country with a population of around 3.5 million. Beirut is the largest city in Lebanon, with about 1.5 million in the metro area. Other large cities include Tripoli and Sidon on the coast, and Zahle in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanon is bordered to the west by the Mediterranean Sea, to the north and east by Syria and to the south by Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The geography of Lebanon is strikingly diverse, comprised of a thin coastal plain, very high forested mountains and a lush agricultural valley. It has no desert. Lebanon’s geography and climate is ideal for both summer and winter sports. The climate is a mild Mediterranean one along the coast with more extreme winter weather up in the mountains. There are three official languages in Lebanon: Arabic, French, and English. Much of the population is bilingual or trilingual. The Lebanese population is religiously diverse. There are 18 different religions officially represented in the parliament. By tradition, the President of Lebanon is Maronite, the Prime Minister is Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament is a Shia Muslim.
Lonely Planet is a good travel guide for Lebanon. Lebanon is very modern by US or European standards (especially Beirut) and you can find just about anything here and have it delivered to your front door (the only exception I’ve found is that Lebanon is seriously lacking in good beer). There are well-stocked pharmacies and modern supermarkets. Beirut is very cosmopolitan when it comes to restaurants and you will find many different cuisines represented—quality is very high. Lebanon has a large and growing wine industry. In Beirut you can easily get by on English or French, but it is nice to learn a few basic words and greetings in the Levantine Arabic. The local currency is Lebanese Lira, which is tied to the US dollar. US dollars can be used for all commerce in Lebanon. There are many banks and ATM machines everywhere. Dress in Beirut is not a big concern for visitors. You can basically wear whatever you want (although conservative dress is needed to enter mosques and women have to cover their hair, arms, and legs in a mosque— this is true of mosques everywhere). The weather is in early November is likely to be very pleasant, but it is on the edge of the rainy season, so bring an umbrella or waterproof jacket just in case.
Travel to neighboring countries by land can be problematic. Because Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic ties it is not possible to enter Israel from Lebanon nor Lebanon from Israel. This is a political matter between the two nations and has nothing to do with religion per se. You cannot have an Israeli stamp in your passport to enter Lebanon (or even to get on a plane to Lebanon). If you have any Israeli stamps you will have to get a new passport in order to enter Lebanon. For information about entering Syria, check with the Syrian embassy in your country. Many nationalities can obtain Syrian visas at the border, however currently this is not possible for US citizens (as of two months ago). If you are a US citizen and want to travel to Syria (and it is worth it to go to Aleppo or Damascus!) you must obtain your visa in advance from the Syrian Embassy in the US. There is a possible exception through tour companies that can obtain group visas, but it’s best to check it out thoroughly. Of course this may change and if it does we’ll update this information. Travel to and from Lebanon by air to Gulf countries, Turkey, Jordan, Cyprus and Egypt is very convenient—short inexpensive flights are usually available.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
The American University of Beirut (AUB) is located beside the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon. The beautiful campus comprises the most impressive green space in Beirut with over 2500 species of plant life represented. AUB is composed six main faculties: Arts & Sciences, Business, Engineering and Architecture, Agriculture and Food Sciences, Health Sciences and Medicine (including a School of Nursing and a Hospital). AUB offers a four-year undergraduate liberal-arts education and MA programs in all areas (PhD programs in some areas will soon be reinstated). The University charter was first granted in 1863 in the state of New York under the name Syrian Protestant College and opened it’s first class in 1866. It is the oldest modern institution of higher learning of its kind in the region and boasts many world and regional leaders among its alumni. There are currently about 7000 students attending AUB including undergraduate, graduate, and medical programs. For more information on the history and mission of AUB, please visit . For information on our Symposium and the immediately following SMEC 10 Conference, see and click on Activities.
ABOUT THE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION INTO THE 21ST CENTURY PROJECT
The Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project is an international educational initiative whose coordinators are Dr. Alan Rogerson (Poland) and Professor Fayez Mina (Egypt). Since its inception in 1986, the Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project has received support and funding from many educational bodies and institutions throughout the world. In 1992 UNESCO published our Project Handbook "Moving Into the 21st Century" as Volume 8 in the UNESCO series Studies In Mathematics Education.
The Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project is dedicated to the improvement of mathematics education world-wide through the publication and dissemination of innovative ideas. Many prominent mathematics educators have supported and contributed to the project, including the late Hans Freudental, Andrejs Dunkels and Hilary Shuard, as well as Bruce Meserve and Marilyn Suydam, Alan Osborne and Margaret Kasten, Mogens Niss, Tibor Nemetz, Ubi D’Ambrosio, Brian Wilson, Tatsuro Miwa, Henry Pollack, Werner Blum, Roberto Baldino, Waclaw Zawadowski, and many others throughout the world.
Information on our project and its future work can be found on the following webpages.
Information on Malaysia 2005 Conference
Our Project Home Page
Egypt Conference site
Jordan conference site
Australia conference site
Sicily Conference site
Brno Conference site
Ciechocinek Conference site
Filippo Spagnolo, of Palermo University, is webmaster for the above sites.
Felix Rieper has compiled a photo album of the Ciechocinek Conference at
Krys Bestry is webmaster for our Polish Superkurs Home Page and National Planning Meetings webpage (in Polish - but with pictures!)
See also: and for more information about our project and its work. For the Brno conference there is a local Website in Czech and English at
The Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project has the following National Representatives: Prof. Jean Michel Hanna Egypt, Dr. Reda Abu-Elwan Oman, Assistant Professor Othman Alsawaie UAE, Professor Noor Azlan Ahmad Zanzali Malaysia, Professor Angel Balderas Mexico, Dr. René Berthelot France, Dr. Cinzia Bonotto Italy, Gail Burrill USA, Professor Indira Chacko Zimbawe, Prof Dr.Erik De Corte Belgium, Prof. Dr. Franco Favilli Italy, Professor Gunnar Gjone Norway, Professor Doctor Gunter Graumann Germany, Pam Hagen Canada, Dr. Marjorie Henningsen Lebanon, Dr. Hanan Innabi Jordan, Professor George Malaty Finland, Prof Dr. Ivan Meznik Czech Republic, Willy Mwakapenda Malawi/South Africa, Dr. Maria Luisa Oliveras Spain, Chris Ormell UK, Assoc Prof Lionel Pereira-Mendoza Singapore, Dr. Medhat Rahim Canada, Dr. Fatimah Saleh Malaysia, Dr. Maher Y. Shawer USA, Professor Anthony Sofo Australia, Dr. Filippo Spagnolo Italy, Teresa Vergani Portugal, Professor Derrick Young South Africa, Professor Wacek Zawadowski Poland.
Our project is an international FORUM for the interaction of both researchers and teachers; innovation is our immediate concern but we also have some special interests: maths for living, humanizing maths education, equity and ethnomathematics, the effective use of new educational technology in the classroom, adopting new paradigms...etc. Our accumulated and current experiences are represented by the seven volumes of our conference proceedings (in addition to our UNESCO handbook). There are more than 40 years of research-in-action behind our project work - going back to the vast didactic innovations of SMP and other projects in the 1960s in the UK, initiatives in Holland and Scandinavia, Australia, Brazil, etc in the 1970s and 1980s, and many other major innovative projects in the world. Our Project has tried to learn as much as possible from as many people as possible with the aim of IMPLEMENTING these innovative ideas in practical classroom materials for the teaching of mathematics. Those who have read the seminal works of Polya, Kuhn, Lakatos, Wittgenstein and Freire will see how much our Project owes to those creative thinkers for its scientific underpinning.
Our project's very strong positive approach to communication and collaboration is a central objective of all our conferences, meetings and symposia - to put teachers and researchers in contact. That is why we do not restrict our conferences ONLY to research papers, in the end we are a conference dedicated to INNOVATION, and this often includes many significant new ideas and classroom experiences from teachers.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTED PAPERS
Papers should be sent before June 1st, 2006. Please note that papers can only be included in the final program and printed in the Proceedings if received from participants who have already registered for the conference and have paid the registration fee.
FORMAT FOR SUBMITTED PAPERS
The paper must be in the form of a Microsoft Word Document sent by email attachment, OR (ONLY if email is NOT available to you) on an IBM PC formatted disk by registered airmail to: Dr. Alan Rogerson,ul LISTOPADOWA 1/45, 60-153 POZNAN, Poland.
Papers must be single spaced,Times New Roman font, size 12 and must be NOT longer than 6 pages (please do not send papers in smaller fonts!) Please make sure there are NO editing or correcting programs still active. Please ensure there are NO MACROS, NO headers, NO Footers and NO page numbers. ALL non-text items in the paper (diagrams, graphs, etc) MUST be included in the body of the text in the appropriate places. PLEASE check, BEFORE you send it, that your paper prints out correctly using Microsoft Word (we have had problems with this in the past). Please ensure that your document is virus free by using McAfee or Norton anti-virus scans. Please do NOT send multiple copies of your paper and please do NOT send pdf files.