Dr. Zoltan Dienes, 93, of Wolfville is a celebrated academic in the field of mathematics education.

He was honoured recently at Acadia University with an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Pécs in Hungary.

Dienes was a tireless practitioner of the "new mathematics," an approach to mathematical learning that uses games, songs and dance to make it more appealing to children.

The holder of four previous honorary degrees, Dienes has had a long and fruitful career, breaking new ground and gaining many followers with his revolutionary ideas of learning often complex mathematical concepts in such fun ways children are often unaware they are learning anything.

Dr. David Reid, who teaches math education at Acadia, said at the ceremony “it is difficult to find a mathematics curriculum guide or textbook that does not demonstrate his influence on the field, but only those who have studied his work can see that influence. Many teachers use his theories and materials in the same way they use their cell phones and the web, with enjoyment and dependence - but without awareness of the individual who made them possible.”

A resolution put forward in the legislature prior to the event by Kings South MLA Ramona Jennex recognized the passion and dedication of this remarkable Nova Scotian and congratulated him as his remarkable contributions to the field of education were celebrated. As a former early elementary teacher, Jennex said the theories presented by Dienes significantly impacted the way in which mathematics is taught to children in Nova Scotia, and around the world. She added her own son, Connor, was influenced by Dienes as a child and became a math teacher.

Dr. Edmund Rudiuk, who teaches at Cape Breton University, said “we appreciate your work and vision on how mathematical structures can be taught from the early grades onwards using multiple embodiments through manipulatives, games and stories. You were undoubtedly a visionary leader who was well aware that the advancement in mathematics education could not be achieved without realizing that knowledge and abilities are organized around experience and abstractions.”

Dr. Sándor Klein, a former colleaque and professor of psychology at Pécs University visited Wolfville last year to invite Dienes to accept the honorary degree. Klein said the university wanted to recognize a lifetime of valuable work in the research and practice of teaching and learning mathematics.

A native of Hungary, Dienes emigrated to Canada in 1966. In addition to an earned doctorate in mathematics from the University of London, Dienes already has honorary doctorates from Mount Allison University, the University of Caen, the University of Sienna and the Exeter University in 1995.

Klein and Dienes worked together in the early 1970s at the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, where Dienes was the director of an international psychomathematics research centre.

He retired to Wolfville in 1988, spending a number of years as a research associate at Acadia University’s School of Education.