Learning from others Can PISA and TIMSS really inform curriculum developments in mathematics?

Abstract

One of the problems that will vex any President of the Mathematical Association is the topic of the address with which he or she closes his or her year of office. This occupied me, on and off, for more than a year. In my case, in addition to my desire to acknowledge the honour of the invitation made to me, I was deeply conscious of the fact that I would be the 100th individual to serve as President. I dabbled with some pet themes, typically concerning the lack of genuine problem-solving or proof in English school mathematics, before concluding that the most sensible thing would be to talk on the topic about which I know most. My research interests are in comparative mathematics education. I have been fortunate, over the last twenty years or so, to have been able to visit and videotape mathematics classrooms in several European countries. In so doing I have had my understanding of mathematics teaching transformed in ways that led, almost inevitably, to the theme of both this talk and the conference which brought my Presidency to an end: Learning from Others.