goes to Hugh Burkhardt and Malcolm Swan

ICMI is delighted to announce the first recipients of the Emma Castelnuovo Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education: Professors Hugh Burkhardt and Malcolm Swan.

The 2016 Emma Castelnuovo Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education goes to Hugh Burkhardt and Malcolm Swan in recognition of their more than 35 years of development and implementation of innovative, influential work in the practice of mathematics education, including the development of curriculum and assessment materials, instructional design concepts, teacher preparation programs and educational system changes. Burkhardt and Swan have served as strategic and creative leaders of the Nottingham-based Shell Centre team of developers. Together, they have produced ground-breaking contributions that have had a remarkable influence on the practice of mathematics education as exemplified by Emma Castelnuovo.

In 1976, Hugh Burkhardt was appointed as the Director of the Shell Centre for Mathematical Education. Struck by the limited influence of educational research on what happens in schools, he decided to focus the Centre’s work on research and development aimed at having a direct impact on classroom practice. His appointment of Malcolm Swan was a key element in the success of the many projects they have subsequently led, with Burkhardt leading the strategic design of the products and processes and Swan leading the detailed design of the learning activities for students, the teaching approaches and the professional development programs that support teachers to attend to a full range of mathematical practices.

Among the many projects they designed and coached the Mathematics Assessment Project, a collaboration between the Shell Centre team and the University of California, Berkeley. Its 100 ‘Classroom Challenges’ which are formative assessment lessons based on diagnostic teaching, have received over 3 million lesson downloads. Through the MAP and other projects, Burkhardt and Swan continue to have an extensive impact on mathematics teaching and assessment around the world.

Their vision of the classroom is one where students are active learners, learning through problem solving, discussion, reasoning, and collaboration. The instructional materials, professional development materials, and system changes coming have enhanced the mathematics education of millions of students worldwide.

We look forward to honouring the recipients at ICME-13 in Hamburg next year with the other ICMI medallists.

Full citation from the Award Committee chaired by Professor Jeremy Kilpatrick available at ICMI website