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Making Research in Mathematics Education relevant to Research Mathematicia ns

Title: Making Research in Mathematics Education relevant to Research Mathematicians
Speaker: David Tall, Warwick University

A wide spectrum of students attend courses in mathematics at college level. Some are highly successful, many fail. Yet mathematics education often explains how the (generic) student finds difficulties in doing mathematics. This talk addresses the need for developing a practical theory for the learning and teaching of mathematics at college level, taking into account the broad spectrum of the student population and the qualitative similarities and differences between individuals. Just as new mathematical topics need to the introduction of new terms, so does the study of mathematical thinking, but this does not mean that it is not possible to formulate such ideas in a way intended to communicate to professional mathematicians. Illustrations will be given from studies in learning mathematical analysis.