Plenarists

Luis Radford graduated from the Universidad de San Carlos, then moved to France where he studied mathematics at the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg.  He obtained his PhD in Didactics of Mathematics at the same institution. Since 1992, he has been teaching and conducting research at the École des sciences de l'éducation de l'Université Laurentienne in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where he became a full professor in 1997. He currently holds the position of professor emeritus. At the École des sciences de l'éducation, he teaches in the in-service teacher training programme and conducts classroom research with teachers from kindergarten to grade 12. His research interests include the development of algebraic thinking, the relationship between culture and thought, the epistemology of mathematics and semiotics, and theoretical and practical aspects of mathematical thinking, teaching and learning. He has conducted two major research projects for the Ontario Ministry of Education, resulting in two books for teachers and researchers: Communication et Apprentissage (2004) and Processus d'Abstraction en Mathématiques (2009) and numerous workshops for teachers, headmasters, superintendents and policy makers. He was co-editor of three special issues of Educational Studies in Mathematics: one on the history of mathematics and mathematics education (2007), one on gestures and multimodality (2009) and one on semiotics (2011). He also co-edited a special issue of the Revista Latinoamericana de Matemática Educativa on semiotics, culture and mathematical thinking (2006). He co-edited the book ‘Semiotics in mathematics education: epistemology, history, classroom, and culture’ (Sense Publishers, 2008) and is co-author of the book ‘A Cultural-Historical Perspective on Mathematics Teaching and Learning’ (2011, Sense Publishers). He was associate editor of For the Learning of Mathematics and is currently associate editor of Educational Studies in Mathematics. He is also a member of the editorial board of several international journals, such as Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Recherches en Didactique des Mathématiques, Revista Latinoamericana de Matemática Educativa, PNA, Avances de Investigación en Educación Matemática. He received the Laurentian University Research Excellence Award for 2004-05 and the 2011 Hans Freudenthal Medal from ICMI. During the period July 2012 - July 2016, he was chairman of the International Study Group on the Relations between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM). The HPM is an affiliated group of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). From 2016 to 2020, he was one of the vice-presidents of the ICMI. For all publications see the link: https://luisradford.ca/publications/ 

Anna Sfard received her PhD in Didactics of Mathematics in 1988 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 1995, she has taught Didactics of Mathematics at the University of Haifa where she currently holds the position of Professor Emerita. She conducts research and teaches in the field of learning sciences, with a focus on the relationship between thinking and communication. She has developed the theoretical framework of ‘Commognition’ to study the development and role of human discourses, particularly mathematical discourses, in individual life and throughout history. The results were summarised in the monograph ‘Thinking as Communicating: Human development, the growth of discourses, and mathematizing’ (2008). From 2003 to 2007, she served as the first Lappan-Phillips-Fitzgerald Professor of Mathematics Education at Michigan State University, USA. From 2007 to 2009, she was Professor of Didactics of Mathematics at the Institute of Education, University College London, where she served as Visiting Professor from 2009 to 2016. Other edited or co-edited volumes include:  Learning tools: Perspectives on the role of designed artifacts in mathematics learning (2002). Learning discourse: discursive approaches to research in mathematics education (2003). A Journey in Mathematics Education Research: Insights from the Work of Paul Cobb (2011). Development of Mathematical discourse: Some insights from communicational research (2012). A discursive approach to the investigation of school mathematics (2016). Research for educational change: Transforming researchers' insights into improvement in mathematics teaching and learning (2017). In 2011 he won the Hans Freudenthal Medal of the ICMI. Since 2015 he has been a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Since 2016 he has been an international member of the National Academy of Education (NAEd). Since 2023 he has been an international member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S). He has given talks at international conferences, which can be found at: https://sfard.edu.haifa.ac.il/Talks. For all publications see the following link: https://sfard.edu.haifa.ac.il/Articles