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News
April 15, 2008
For immediate release
Julian Weissglass of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School delivers two invited presentations to national mathematics educators conferences
Dr. Julian Weissglass of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School recently gave two invited addresses at conferences Salt Lake City. The first was a major session at the National Council of Supervisors in Mathematics Annual Conference – an international organization of leaders collaborating to achieve excellence and equity in mathematics education at all levels – with the title “Success for Every Child and Other Related Revolutionary Ideas.” The second was an invited talk at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference – a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership and professional development to support teachers in ensuring equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students – entitled “The American Revolution, Self-Evident Truths, and Mathematics Education.”
In his plenary session “Success for Every Child and Other Related Revolutionary Ideas” Weissglass discussed the meaning of success for every child and how it may set traps for educators. Weissglass encouraged participants in the session to talk about what mathematical success for every child meant to them and what kind of society and schools it would require. The group also considered the implications of other social and scientific revolutionary ideas for mathematics education.
In his presentation “The American Revolution, Self-Evident Truths, and Mathematics Education” Weissglass discussed the relationship of the self-evident truths enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the assumptions that guide the way teachers teach, educators organize schools, and policy-makers set polices. His main message was that in order to make mathematics classrooms and the world better for young people, adults (teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, policy makers, parents) need to examine their assumptions – what they feel certain about, self-evident truths – about human beings, mathematical understanding, and the complex factors that affect learning and teaching.
Julian Weissglass is a Professor in the Department of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and was a member of the UCSB Mathematics Department for over 30 years. He has taught mathematics to elementary classes, written about education and educational change, and spoken and led workshops on learning and educational change in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Mexico. His early career was focused on mathematics research. He has worked extensively doing professional development in mathematics education. He was Director of the NSF funded Equity in Mathematics Education Leadership Institute, which developed leadership capacity for equity in mathematics education, and is currently director of the National Coalition for Equity in Education.
[Julian Weissglass is available for interviews; contact George Yatchisin at 805 893 5789]
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