France's Big Push on Math Education: A New Era for Math Lovers and Fearful Alike
A significant number of French citizens, over 40%, express a desire to return to the study of mathematics, as per a survey conducted by the CNRS.
Get ready to share your math experiences, folks! Since early March, the CNRS and the INSMI have been inviting everyone to spill the beans about the role of mathematics in their lives and society. That's right, a massive public survey wrapping up on Wednesday, April 30.
: The math skills of French students have been causing concern, trailing the OECD average, but the downward trend has finally come to a halt, according to a global study Almost 33,000 people participated in this two-month online questionnaire, answering around fifteen questions regarding their personal relationship with mathematics, its use, usefulness, teaching methods, or simply their perception of the term "mathematics".
Emotions Unleashed: Logic, Joy, or Anxiety?
Elise Janvresse, deputy director of the INSMI, shared her thoughts: *"Words like 'logic', 'calculation', and 'reasoning' come up frequently. But there are also emotional words associated with it, both negative and positive, such as 'difficult' and 'fear', as well as 'pleasure' and 'beauty'."
Forget the personal, the survey also posed questions about the concrete desire to learn math. For example, would you enjoy resuming your math education like taking up a cooking or tennis course? Here's the shocker: over 40% of respondents said yes! But what steps should be taken to make this happen? Elise Janvresse gives us this scoop: "We'll need to respond to this demand and discover what would aid this learning — the types of actions needed."
To shed light on the issue, workshops with a citizen panel will take place by July, with the expected analysis and conclusions to be published by fall.
Time to Fallback in Love with Math, French Style
While no formal consultation report is available, ongoing studies and reforms indicate a multi-faceted approach is likely in the works, including standardized early assessments to identify learning gaps, teacher training programs to deploy evidence-based teaching methods 📚, and institutional partnerships to fine-tune scalable models 🤝.
The Collège de France will also host math enthusiasts with a series of conferences in May 2025, focusing on rekindling the love for math in schools, led by experts like Stanislas Dehaene and Stéphane Mallat ✨.
Stay tuned for more exciting math-related developments in France! 🇫🇷📈
References:1. A series of conferences on "reenchanting mathematics" in schools will take place at the Collège de France in May 2025 (Collège de France press release, 2025)2. Recent reforms in French math education emphasize teacher training and targeted interventions (France's Ministry of Education, 2024)3. France's new mathematics learning initiatives include mandatory 3rd/5th-grade testing and voluntary assessments for middle school students (France's Ministry of Education, 2024)4. ORT France Network focuses on developing and implementing scalable math education solutions (ORT France press release, 2023)
- The ongoing math survey in France has evoked a strong response from the public, with over 33,000 people participating in the two-month questionnaire.
- French education and self-development are set to be strengthened, with the downward trend in math skills among French students finally coming to a halt.
- One possible solution to address the desire to learn math among more than 40% of survey respondents is to discover what types of actions would aid this learning.
- In an effort to rekindle the love for math in schools, the Collège de France will host a series of conferences in May 2025, led by math experts like Stanislas Dehaene and Stéphane Mallat.
