Discussion Groups

Overview

Discussion Groups gather Congress delegates who are interested in discussing challenging, controversial, or emerging issues and dilemmas of interest with an international or regional audience in a genuinely interactive way.

The IPC consider Discussion Groups as integral to fostering international collaboration and sharing on topics that are of importance and relevance to Congress participants from different countries.

Topics for Discussion Groups are proposed by Congress delegates. Those responsible for successful proposals will become the Coordinators of the Discussion Group, who assume the responsibility for organising two 90-minute sessions on their chosen topic during ICME-15. Discussion Groups are included in formal ICME-15 program schedule, however given the nature of this activity, it is not anticipated that Discussion Groups will involve invited speakers, or a call for papers.

Discussion Groups are an important component of the ICME-15 Scientific Program. A sub-committee of the IPC will actively support Discussion Group Coordinators in the lead up to the Congress to ensure Discussion Groups engage and inform colleagues in a genuinely interactive way.

Discussion Group Proposals

Congress delegates wishing to organise a Discussion Group at ICME-15 are invited to consider proposing a Discussion Group. The formal call for proposals will be included in the Second Announcement.

The IPC expects that Discussion Groups will be proposed by a group of scholars from at least three different countries in at least two different regions of the world, ensuring that Discussion Groups appropriately promote discussion and sharing between mathematics educators from different countries.

Proposal process

Proposals should include:

• The names of the Coordinators of the Discussion Group
• The name of the Contact Coordinator, who will liaise with the ICME-15 Secretariat on all matters relating to the Discussion Group
• The name of the Discussion Group as it should appear in the ICME-15 program
• A description of the theme, including anticipated aims and a rationale for the topic

The focus of a Discussion Group should not repeat the broad areas covered in the Topic Study Groups.

Role of Discussion Group Coordinators

Once the Discussion Group has been accepted the Coordinators will be provided with the ICME-15 Discussion Group Guidelines to help them plan the sessions and prepare information about the Discussion Group for inclusion in the ICME-15 Program. Coordinators will also consider whether and how the Discussion Group might work towards a publication (paper, journal article, monograph etc.).

During the Congress, the Coordinators will facilitate the work of the Discussion Group. Following the Congress the Coordinators will provide a short report of the sessions held, the outcome/s, and any recommendations that emerged. Further information about features of the Coordinators’ report will be included in the ICME-15 Discussion Group Guidelines.

Possible topics for Discussion Groups

We welcome proposals for Discussion Groups on a variety of topics and themes at ICME-15. In addition, the IPC has identified a number of suitable topics that may facilitate valuable Discussion Group sessions. Some of these topics relate to Plenary Panel 1, which will examine how mathematics education responds to ‘issues for humanity’. Discussion Groups could take a closer look at how, in different parts of the world, mathematics education can, or should relate to issues such as:

• Climate change and sustainability
• Social justice, poverty, and inequality
• Citizenship, democracy, and fake news
• Displaced people, peace, and justice
• Indigenous knowledges and decolonising mathematics
• Contemporary gender issues (transgender, gender diversity etc.)
• Artificial Intelligence
• Pandemics, wellbeing, and resilience

If you have an interest in one of these topics, consider forming a team of colleagues from different countries to propose a Discussion Group.

Timeline

Please refer to the Key Dates table to confirm the dates related to this activity. Further information will also be provided in the Second Announcement.

Discussion Group Publications

Discussion Groups reports may be included in the formal Post-Congress Proceedings of ICME-15.

Coordinators of Discussion Groups are also encouraged to work towards producing other publication(s) based on the group’s work and findings. Whilst advice will be available on publication opportunities, the Discussion Group Coordinators will be fully responsible for any such publication.

Submission Guidelines

Please refer to the following guideline to make a submission into the ICME-15 General Submissions portal. Please note a submission to a Topic Study Group (TSG) must be completed in the ICME-15 TSG portal.