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Research by Professor Paul Drijvers of the Freudenthal Institute has caused discussion in Germany. The study, which was carried out in collaboration with the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of Duisburg-Essen and the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of Antwerp, shows how mathematics teachers in the Netherlands, Flanders and Germany continued their education after secondary schools had to close because of the corona pandemic.

Die Zeit

Even before the study was officially published, it formed the basis of a . This German weekly wrote that German mathematics education 'lags far behind other countries' and underlines this with the initial findings of the study: 31 percent of German mathematics teachers indicate that they never used video conferencing, live chat or other forms of synchronous teaching during the lockdown. In the Netherlands and Flanders, only 7 percent of mathematics teachers indicated this.

We started off with this research quickly, and I think that has ensured that there has been so much interest from different angles.

Surprised

Paul Drijvers is surprised by the discussion that arose as a result of the study. "It is of course nice when research has a direct impact. But in this case, I didn't expect it", he says. "The pandemic forced mathematics teachers out of their comfort zone and I found it interesting to see how they dealt with it. I hadn't thought about differences between countries. I assumed that it is the same everywhere".

Worldwide interest

The results of Drijvers' study elicited more response. For example, the professor was invited by the U.S. National Commission of Mathematics Instruction to give a webinar on the first results. "That was a special experience, too," he says. "Suddenly I was sitting in my room in the Buys Ballot speaking to colleagues from all over the world. We started off with this research quickly, and I think that has ensured that there has been so much interest from different angles".

The study has been submitted but has not yet been published.