Anna Sfard

Anna Sfard has developed a theoretical framework of mathematical thinking known as ‘commognitive’. This theory, grounded in the assumption that mathematics is a special form of communication, or a discourse, has been used in studying the development and role of human discourses, and mathematical discourses in particular, in individual lives and in the course of history. The results of this research have been summarized in her 2008 book, ‘Thinking as communicating’, and numerous articles and book chapters. Currently Professor Emerita at the University of Haifa, Israel, Sfard served as the first Lappan-Philips-Fitzgerald Professor at Michigan State University and as Professor of Mathematics Education in the Institute of Education, University College of London. She is a recipient of 2007 Freudenthal Award, a Fellow of American Educational Research Association (AERA) and a member of the American National Academy of Education (NAEd).