Anna B. Sfard

Anna Sfard is Professor Emerita of Mathematics Learning Sciences at University of Haifa. Sfard has developed a theoretical framework of mathematical thinking known as ‘commognitive’. Grounded in the assumption that mathematics is a special form of communication, her theory has been used in studying the development and role of human discourses in individual lives and in the course of history. The results of this research have been summarized in her book Thinking as Communicating, as well as in numerous articles and book chapters. Her other volumes, edited or co-edited, include Developing Mathematical Discourse: Some Insights from Communicational Research; and Research for Educational Change: Transforming Researchers' Insights into Improvement in Mathematics teaching and Learning.

Sfard previously 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 and a member of the American National Academy of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.