Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices
Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices

Author: José Ferreirós

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-12-22

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 0691167516

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This book presents a new approach to the epistemology of mathematics by viewing mathematics as a human activity whose knowledge is intimately linked with practice. Charting an exciting new direction in the philosophy of mathematics, José Ferreirós uses the crucial idea of a continuum to provide an account of the development of mathematical knowledge that reflects the actual experience of doing math and makes sense of the perceived objectivity of mathematical results. Describing a historically oriented, agent-based philosophy of mathematics, Ferreirós shows how the mathematical tradition evolved from Euclidean geometry to the real numbers and set-theoretic structures. He argues for the need to take into account a whole web of mathematical and other practices that are learned and linked by agents, and whose interplay acts as a constraint. Ferreirós demonstrates how advanced mathematics, far from being a priori, is based on hypotheses, in contrast to elementary math, which has strong cognitive and practical roots and therefore enjoys certainty. Offering a wealth of philosophical and historical insights, Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices challenges us to rethink some of our most basic assumptions about mathematics, its objectivity, and its relationship to culture and science.

Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices
Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices

Author: José Ferreirós

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-12-22

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1400874009

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This book presents a new approach to the epistemology of mathematics by viewing mathematics as a human activity whose knowledge is intimately linked with practice. Charting an exciting new direction in the philosophy of mathematics, José Ferreirós uses the crucial idea of a continuum to provide an account of the development of mathematical knowledge that reflects the actual experience of doing math and makes sense of the perceived objectivity of mathematical results. Describing a historically oriented, agent-based philosophy of mathematics, Ferreirós shows how the mathematical tradition evolved from Euclidean geometry to the real numbers and set-theoretic structures. He argues for the need to take into account a whole web of mathematical and other practices that are learned and linked by agents, and whose interplay acts as a constraint. Ferreirós demonstrates how advanced mathematics, far from being a priori, is based on hypotheses, in contrast to elementary math, which has strong cognitive and practical roots and therefore enjoys certainty. Offering a wealth of philosophical and historical insights, Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices challenges us to rethink some of our most basic assumptions about mathematics, its objectivity, and its relationship to culture and science.

Refining the Mathematics Knowledge Base
Refining the Mathematics Knowledge Base

Author: Bindu Elizabeth Pothen

Publisher: Stanford University

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13:

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Understanding the knowledge that teachers must bring to their classrooms is critical to the advancement of the field of teacher education. Understanding how teacher knowledge impacts various aspects of teacher practice is also critical. Understanding the interplay between teacher knowledge and practice, and consequently the result that this relationship has on student learning is most important. This dissertation attempts to advance our collective understanding of the complex relationship between teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning in the field of elementary mathematics. Four third-grade teachers were followed as they taught a subset of lessons in a unit on fractions. The study first investigates the types of knowledge that the teachers brought to their classrooms. Then, an examination is conducted of the way in which these types of knowledge impacted their teaching practice. Finally, the student learning that resulted over the course of these lessons is discussed. This study supports the widespread belief that teacher knowledge is important to instruction. The descriptions of the case study teachers highlight that their varying levels of knowledge resulted in unique aspects of practice being emphasized in their classrooms. This dissertation documents the differences in teaching practice and the trade-offs that produce differences in student learning. Interesting student learning patterns emerged, based on qualitative student interviews. Medium students from classrooms in which teachers focused for more sustained periods on mathematical concepts seemed to demonstrate greater procedural fluency and deeper conceptual understanding than their peers in the other classrooms. Low students in classrooms where fluency was the focus seemed to show slightly greater procedural fluency, though less conceptual understanding, than their peers in the classrooms that spent more time on concepts. High students showed no appreciable difference across all classrooms. This study adds to the field by introducing a new construct, the conceptual threshold, to offer an explanation of these student learning trends.

Circles Disturbed
Circles Disturbed

Author: Apostolos Doxiadis

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012-03-18

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 1400842689

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Why narrative is essential to mathematics Circles Disturbed brings together important thinkers in mathematics, history, and philosophy to explore the relationship between mathematics and narrative. The book's title recalls the last words of the great Greek mathematician Archimedes before he was slain by a Roman soldier—"Don't disturb my circles"—words that seem to refer to two radically different concerns: that of the practical person living in the concrete world of reality, and that of the theoretician lost in a world of abstraction. Stories and theorems are, in a sense, the natural languages of these two worlds—stories representing the way we act and interact, and theorems giving us pure thought, distilled from the hustle and bustle of reality. Yet, though the voices of stories and theorems seem totally different, they share profound connections and similarities. A book unlike any other, Circles Disturbed delves into topics such as the way in which historical and biographical narratives shape our understanding of mathematics and mathematicians, the development of "myths of origins" in mathematics, the structure and importance of mathematical dreams, the role of storytelling in the formation of mathematical intuitions, the ways mathematics helps us organize the way we think about narrative structure, and much more. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Amir Alexander, David Corfield, Peter Galison, Timothy Gowers, Michael Harris, David Herman, Federica La Nave, G.E.R. Lloyd, Uri Margolin, Colin McLarty, Jan Christoph Meister, Arkady Plotnitsky, and Bernard Teissier.

Refining the Mathematics Knowledge Base
Refining the Mathematics Knowledge Base

Author: Bindu Elizabeth Pothen

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Understanding the knowledge that teachers must bring to their classrooms is critical to the advancement of the field of teacher education. Understanding how teacher knowledge impacts various aspects of teacher practice is also critical. Understanding the interplay between teacher knowledge and practice, and consequently the result that this relationship has on student learning is most important. This dissertation attempts to advance our collective understanding of the complex relationship between teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning in the field of elementary mathematics. Four third-grade teachers were followed as they taught a subset of lessons in a unit on fractions. The study first investigates the types of knowledge that the teachers brought to their classrooms. Then, an examination is conducted of the way in which these types of knowledge impacted their teaching practice. Finally, the student learning that resulted over the course of these lessons is discussed. This study supports the widespread belief that teacher knowledge is important to instruction. The descriptions of the case study teachers highlight that their varying levels of knowledge resulted in unique aspects of practice being emphasized in their classrooms. This dissertation documents the differences in teaching practice and the trade-offs that produce differences in student learning. Interesting student learning patterns emerged, based on qualitative student interviews. Medium students from classrooms in which teachers focused for more sustained periods on mathematical concepts seemed to demonstrate greater procedural fluency and deeper conceptual understanding than their peers in the other classrooms. Low students in classrooms where fluency was the focus seemed to show slightly greater procedural fluency, though less conceptual understanding, than their peers in the classrooms that spent more time on concepts. High students showed no appreciable difference across all classrooms. This study adds to the field by introducing a new construct, the conceptual threshold, to offer an explanation of these student learning trends.

Mathematics for Human Flourishing
Mathematics for Human Flourishing

Author: Francis Su

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2020-01-07

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0300237138

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"The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.

Culture and Cognitive Development
Culture and Cognitive Development

Author: Geoffrey B. Saxe

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2015-01-28

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1317728084

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Researchers examining children's mathematics acquisition are now questioning the belief that children learn mathematics principally through formalized, in-school mathematics education. There is increasing evidence that children gain mathematical understanding through their participation in out-of-school cultural practices and that their mathematics only occasionally resembles what they learn in the classroom. Culture and Cognitive Development presents the latest research by Dr. Geoffrey Saxe on this issue. In examinations of the mathematical understandings of child candy sellers in an urban center in northeastern Brazil, Dr. Saxe finds sharp contrasts between mathematics as practiced in school and in real-world settings. In this unique research project he presents a penetrating conceptual treatment of the interplay between culture and cognitive development, filling a void in current research literature. Subjects examined include: the interplay between sociocultural and cognitive developmental processes the differences between math knowledge learned in and out of the classroom the ways math learning in the classroom is modified by children's out-of-school mathematics and, correspondingly, how practical out-of-school mathematics use is modified by formal education

Handbook of Research on Assessment Practices and Pedagogical Models for Immigrant Students
Handbook of Research on Assessment Practices and Pedagogical Models for Immigrant Students

Author: Keengwe, Jared

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2019-06-14

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 1522593497

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Standardized tests have been selected as a key assessment factor in expanding the academic achievement of the national student population. However, these tests position immigrant students at the risk of academic failure, leading education experts to search for new strategies and teaching models. The Handbook of Research on Assessment Practices and Pedagogical Models for Immigrant Students is a critical research publication that focuses on research-based pedagogical practices for teaching immigrant students. Edited by a prominent IGI Global editor, this book examines the latest professional development models and assessment practices of English learners (ELs). Covering essential topics such as second language acquisition (SLA), classroom management, teacher education, refugee resettlement programs, and more, this publication is a valuable resource for academicians, professionals, researchers, administrators, faculty, and classroom teachers as the social and academic needs of English language learners continue to present a challenge for many schools and teachers.

Culture and Cognitive Development
Culture and Cognitive Development

Author: Geoffrey B. Saxe

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2015-01-28

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 1317728092

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Researchers examining children's mathematics acquisition are now questioning the belief that children learn mathematics principally through formalized, in-school mathematics education. There is increasing evidence that children gain mathematical understanding through their participation in out-of-school cultural practices and that their mathematics only occasionally resembles what they learn in the classroom. Culture and Cognitive Development presents the latest research by Dr. Geoffrey Saxe on this issue. In examinations of the mathematical understandings of child candy sellers in an urban center in northeastern Brazil, Dr. Saxe finds sharp contrasts between mathematics as practiced in school and in real-world settings. In this unique research project he presents a penetrating conceptual treatment of the interplay between culture and cognitive development, filling a void in current research literature. Subjects examined include: the interplay between sociocultural and cognitive developmental processes the differences between math knowledge learned in and out of the classroom the ways math learning in the classroom is modified by children's out-of-school mathematics and, correspondingly, how practical out-of-school mathematics use is modified by formal education