Theory meets practice: Working pragmatically within different cultures and traditions

Abstract

We explore the question of how a research community focused on mathematical modeling might best inform teachers' practices from the viewpoint of an international collaborative project LEMA which seeks to develop a teacher training program for use in different countries with their distinctive cultures and traditions. Following identification of some of the key challenges, we illustrate these from the different perspectives of three of the partners involved. Then, we seek to identify where common ground and indeed differences might be used to enrich such a project. In doing so, we invite other researchers to reflect on their perspectives developed within their own cultural settings and to consider how they might help inform teacher education programs that seek to promote mathematical modeling. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.