Henry O. Pollak Chairman of the International Program Committee Bell Laboratories Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA The Fourth International Congress on Mathematics Education was held in Berkeley, California, USA, August 10-16, 1980. Previous Congresses were held in Lyons in 1969, Exeter in 1972, and Karlsruhe in 1976. Attendance at Berkeley was about 1800 full and 500 associate members from about 90 countries; at least half of these come from outside of North America. About 450 persons participated in the program either as speakers or as presiders; approximately 40 percent of these came from the U.S. or Canada. There were four plenary addresses; they were delivered by Hans Freudenthal on major problems of mathematics education, Hermina Sinclair on the relationship between the learning of language and of mathematics, Seymour Papert on the computer as carrier of mathematical culture, and Hua Loo-Keng on popularising and applying mathematical methods. Gearge Polya was the honorary president of the Congress; illness prevented his planned attendence but he sent a brief presentation entitled, "Mathematics Improves the Mind". There was a full program of speakers, panelists, debates, miniconferences, and meetings of working and study groups. In addition, 18 major projects from around the world were invited to make presentations, and various groups representing special areas of concern had the opportunity to meet and to plan their future activities.

Robert Karplus, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, became a leader in the movement to reform elementary school science in the 1960s. This book selects the enduring aspects of his work and presents them for the scientists and science educators of today. In an era when `science education for ALL students' has become the clarion call, the insights and works of Robert Karplus are as relevant now as they were in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. This book tries to capture the essence of his life and work and presents selections of his published articles in a helpful context.

This book challenges some of the conventional wisdoms on the learning of mathematics. The authors use the computer as a window onto mathematical meaning-making. The pivot of their theory is the idea of webbing, which explains how someone struggling with a new mathematical idea can draw on supportive knowledge, and reconciles the individual's role in mathematical learning with the part played by epistemological, social and cultural forces.

Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments describes the most contemporary psychological and pedagogical theories that are foundations for the conception and design of open-ended learning environments and new applications of educational technologies. In the past decade, the cognitive revolution of the 60s and 70s has been replaced or restructured by constructivism and its associated theories, including situated, sociocultural, ecological, everyday, and distributed conceptions of cognition. These theories represent a paradigm shift for educators and instructional designers, to a view of learning as necessarily more social, conversational, and constructive than traditional transmissive views of learning. Never in the history of education have so many different theories said the same things about the nature of learning and the means for supporting it. At the same time, although there is a remarkable amount of consonance among these theories, each also provides a distinct perspective on how learning and sense making occur. This book provides students, faculty, and instructional designers with a clear, concise introduction to these theories and their implications for the design of new learning environments for schools, universities, and corporations. It is well-suited as a required or supplementary text for courses in instructional design and theory, educational psychology, learning, theory, curriculum theory and design, and related areas.

Published to glowing praise in 1990, Science for All Americans defined the science-literate American--describing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes all students should retain from their learning experience--and offered a series of recommendations for reforming our system of education in science, mathematics, and technology. Benchmarks for Science Literacy takes this one step further. Created in close consultation with a cross-section of American teachers, administrators, and scientists, Benchmarks elaborates on the recommendations to provide guidelines for what all students should know and be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. These grade levels offer reasonable checkpoints for student progress toward science literacy, but do not suggest a rigid formula for teaching. Benchmarks is not a proposed curriculum, nor is it a plan for one: it is a tool educators can use as they design curricula that fit their student's needs and meet the goals first outlined in Science for All Americans. Far from pressing for a single educational program, Project 2061 advocates a reform strategy that will lead to more curriculum diversity than is common today. IBenchmarks emerged from the work of six diverse school-district teams who were asked to rethink the K-12 curriculum and outline alternative ways of achieving science literacy for all students. These teams based their work on published research and the continuing advice of prominent educators, as well as their own teaching experience. Focusing on the understanding and interconnection of key concepts rather than rote memorization of terms and isolated facts, Benchmarks advocates building a lasting understanding of science and related fields. In a culture increasingly pervaded by science, mathematics, and technology, science literacy require habits of mind that will enable citizens to understand the world around them, make some sense of new technologies as they emerge and grow, and deal sensibly with problems that involve evidence, numbers, patterns, logical arguments, and technology--as well as the relationship of these disciplines to the arts, humanities, and vocational sciences--making science literacy relevant to all students, regardless of their career paths. If Americans are to participate in a world shaped by modern science and mathematics, a world where technological know-how will offer the keys to economic and political stability in the twenty-first century, education in these areas must become one of the nation's highest priorities. Together with Science for All Americans, Benchmarks for Science Literacy offers a bold new agenda for the future of science education in this country, one that is certain to prepare our children for life in the twenty-first century.