A l'UM la science [S05-ep01] : Teaching mathematics: the challenge of meaning
It's back to school time for A l'UM à la science with Aurélie Chesnais from Lirdef who talks to us about mathematics didactics. The report introduces you to the chemistry kits fromIres with Jean-Yves Winum and Sébastien Filhol, chemistry teachers at the Faculty of Science. A program broadcast every Wednesday on radio Divergence.
A l'UM la science kicks off its fifth season live from the laboratories of the University of Montpellier and its partners. And what could be more logical than to talk about teaching, and what could be more logical than maths? Our subject is the didactics of mathematics. I feel I've already lost some of you, but let me reassure you: stay with us and, like me, you may find it easier to understand why you've never got past the second-degree equation.
If maths means failure for you, you're not alone. According to the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study(Timss), published in December 2024, in maths lessons, French pupils are wearing the dunce's cap. France is last in the European Union in CM1 and second-to-last in4e. Poor results overall, to which we can add strong inequalities between pupils according to their social origins and gender, as we discussed with researcher Madalena Croitoru in a previous program(A l'UM la science: A child-robot interaction to question gender stereotypes in mathematics, 6/03/2025).
The problem isn't new; back in 2018, the Minister of National Education, Blanquer commissioned the renowned mathematician and MP Cédric Villani to draw up an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of mathematics teaching in France; a mission that was to result in a 21-measure plan that clearly didn't bear fruit.
Perhaps he should have turned to our guest. Aurélie Chesnais is a didactician and researcher at Lirdef, the interdisciplinary research laboratory for didactics, education and training. Together with Aline Robert, a researcher at the Laboratoire de didactique André Revuz in Paris, she has just co-published an article entitled Un point de vue didactique sur le développement professionnel des enseignants en mathématiques du secondaire. Her program can be summed up in four words: the challenge of meaning!
In the second half, A l'UM la science takes to the corridors of the university again, and it's behind the door of the chemistry hall that we set up our microphones. Jean-Yves Winum and Sébastien Filhol are both chemistry professors and members of the physics and chemistry group at Ires, the French research institute for science education. They present the chemistry kits developed by Ires.
At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!
Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Alice Rollet
Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9
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