Professor Uri Leron

Mathematics & Computer Science Education
Churchill Family Chair of Education in Science and Technology
Personal Details:
Phone (Office): 3113 Fax (Office): 8295634 Room: 213 eMail: uril@technion.ac.il

Mail Address: 
Uri Leron
The Department of Education in Technology and Science
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000
Israel




Professional highlights:

·       Head, The Department of Education in Technology and Science, 2000-2003.

·       Editor-In-Chief, The International Journal of Computers for Mathematics Learning, Kluwer, 1995-2000.

·       Director, Project ITTT – Information Technologies in Technion Teaching, 1996-1999.

·       Consultant, Educational Development Corporation, Boston, USA, 1996-1999.

·       Director, the Israel Science Teaching Center, 1994.

·       Head, "Tomorrow '98" Administration for Implementing the Harari Report on the Advancement of Science & Technology Education, Ministry of Education, 1993.

·       Faculty, IFSMACSE – Institute For Secondary Mathematics And Computer Science Education., Kent State University, USA, summer, 1990 - 92.

·       Consultant, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne, Australia, 1989.

·       UNESCO Expert Consultant, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1988.

·       Visiting Scholar at MIT Lab for Computer Science (1982), UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education (1987), and Stanford University School of Education (1999).

 

Membership in Professional Organizations:

PME – Psychology of Mathematics Education

HBES – Human Behavior and Evolution Society

 

Research interests:

Applications of Evolutionary Psychology in Mathematics Education

The Rationality Debate in Cognitive Psychology: applications to Mathematics Education

Communicating and understanding mathematical proofs

Research on undergraduate math education

Interactive learning environments

Learning mathematics via programming (Logo, ISETL)

Implementing constructivist approaches in the mathematics classroom

 

Education:

Ph.D., Mathematics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1972

            Thesis: Polynomial identities in rings.  

Supervisor: S. A. Amitsur

M.Sc., Mathematics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1966

            Thesis: Application of model theory in algebra

            Supervisors: S. A. Amitsur, M. O. Rabin

B.Sc., Mathematics-Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1964


Selected publications:

 

Ejersbo, L. R & Leron, U. (2009). Communication Issues in the Mathematical Classroom: Four Looks on a Taxicab Scenario, Submitted. (pdf)

Leron, U. & Hazzan, O. (Accepted, 2008). "Intuitive vs. Analytical Thinking: Four Perspectives" Educational Studies in Mathematics. (pdf)

Paz, T., & Leron, U. (2009). The Slippery Road from Actions on Objects to Functions and Variables, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 40. No, 1. pp.18-39. (Pdf)

Hadar, I. and Leron, U (2008). "How Intuitive is Object Oriented Design?", Communications of the ACM, vol. 51(5), pp. 41-46. (Pdf)

Leron, U., & Hazzan, O. (2006), The Rationality Debate: Application of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 62(2), 105-126 (pdf)

Leron, U. (2004). Mathematical Thinking and Human Nature: Consonance and Conflict, unpublished manuscript. (Pdf)

Leron, U. (2004). Mathematical Thinking & Human Nature: Consonance & Conflict. PME28, Bergen, July 2004. (Doc)

- (2003). Origins of Mathematical Thinking: A Synthesis. CERME3, Bellaria, Italy.

Zaslavsky, O., Sela, H., & Leron, U. (2002). Being sloppy about slope: The effects of changing the graph scale. Educational Studies in Mathematics 49, 119-140. (Pdf)

Leron, U., & Hazzan, O. (1997). The World According to Johnny: A Coping Perspective in Mathematics Education. Educational Studies in Mathematics 32(3), 265-292. (Pdf)

Sfard, A., & Leron, U. (1996). Just Give Me a Computer and I Will Move the Earth: Programming as a Catalyst of a Cultural Revolution in the Mathematics Classroom. International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning 1/2,

Hazzan, O., & Leron, U. (1996). Students’ use and misuse of mathematical theorems: The case of Lagrange’s theorem. For the Learning of Mathematics 16(1), 23-26. (Pdf)

Leron, U., Hazzan, O., & Zazkis, R. (1995). Learning Group Isomorphism: A Crossroads of Many Concepts. Educational Studies in Mathematics 29, 153-174.

Leron, U., & Dubinsky, E. (1995). An Abstract Algebra Story. The American Mathematical Monthly 102, 227-242. (Pdf)

Dubinsky, E., & Leron, U. (1994). Learning Abstract Algebra with ISETL. Springer.

Leron, U., & Zazkis, R. (1992). Of Geometry, Turtles and Groups. In C. Hoyles and R. Noss (Eds.) Learning Mathematics and Logo, MIT Press, 319-352.

Zazkis, R., & Leron, U. (1991). Capturing Congruence with a Turtle. Educational Studies in Mathematics 22, 285-295.

Leron, U., & Armon, U. (1988). How to Explain a Cycloid to a Turtle? The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 7, 3, 55-58.

Leron, U. (1987). Abstraction Barriers in Mathematics and Computer Science. Plenary Talk, the Third International Conference on Logo and Math Education (LME3), Montreal, Canada. (Pdf)

Leron, U., & Eiseberg, M. (1987). On a Knowledge-Related Paradox and its Resolution. International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology 18, 761-765.

Leron, U., & Zazkis, R. (1986): Mathematical Induction and Computational Recursion. For the Learning of Mathematics 6, 2, 25 - 28. (Doc)

Leron, U. (1985). Logo Today: vision and reality. The Computing Teacher 12, 26-32.

- (1985). A direct approach to indirect proofs. Educational Studies in Mathematics 16, 321-325.

- (1985). Heuristic presentations: The role of structuring. For the Learning of Mathematics 5,3, 7-13.

- (1983). Structuring mathematical proofs. American Mathematical Monthly 90, 174-185 (pdf).

- (1980). Matrix methods in decomposition of modules. Linear Algebra and its Applications  31, 159-171.

- (1976). Trace identities and polynomial identities. Journal of Algebra 42, 369-377.

http://edu.technion.ac.il/Faculty/uril/Papers/Ejersbo Leron.pdf