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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Mathematics

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics education

2022

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Mathematics Education As Dystopia: A Future Beyond, Peter Appelbaum, Charoula Stathopoulou, Constantinos Xenofontos Jul 2022

Mathematics Education As Dystopia: A Future Beyond, Peter Appelbaum, Charoula Stathopoulou, Constantinos Xenofontos

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We argue that scholars and practitioners of mathematics education need to find new directions through recognition of its dystopic characteristics, and embrace these characteristics as both the source of challenges and method of response. This contrasts with the generally utopic approach of most scholarship in the field. We offer critical ethnomathematics education as a model, since it has its own origins in lingering dystopic legacies. A perpetual hopelessness and disempowerment is one implicit curriculum of contemporary mathematics education, where the mathematics one learns might help to describe things, yet hardly assists in transforming the reification of power and agency in …


The Fractal Geometry Of Mathematics Classrooms: Navigating Classroom Environments In Factory-Model Schools, Cacey L. Wells Jul 2022

The Fractal Geometry Of Mathematics Classrooms: Navigating Classroom Environments In Factory-Model Schools, Cacey L. Wells

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics education has a diverse and complex history. After decades of national reform, mathematics classrooms today are still in desperate need of change. This article examines the current state of factory-model schooling through the lens of Mandelbrot's The Fractal Geometry of Nature in order to rethink pedagogic practices.


The Problem Of Words: Learning To Teach Mathematics When Numbers And Languages Mix, Gladys Krause Jan 2022

The Problem Of Words: Learning To Teach Mathematics When Numbers And Languages Mix, Gladys Krause

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this piece I propose a perspective shift, from a simplified view of mathematics story problems to a more academically rigorous perspective that integrates mathematical proficiency and language practices crucial for educating bilingual students. The data presented in this article provide a window into what preparing bilingual pre-service teachers to teach mathematics might involve. I discuss issues that arise in the context of preparing Spanish-English bilingual pre-service teachers in a way that can inform their practice in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms.


Mindfully Navigating The Wind And Water: Defining The Currents Of Metaphors That Interfere With Excellence In Mathematics Education, Rob Blom, Olivia Lu, Chunlei Lu Jan 2022

Mindfully Navigating The Wind And Water: Defining The Currents Of Metaphors That Interfere With Excellence In Mathematics Education, Rob Blom, Olivia Lu, Chunlei Lu

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We bring to the forefront of educational thought a specific attitude toward the COVID-19 crisis that harnesses the symbolism of wind and water to navigate the cultural storm interfering upon our mathematical and pedagogical craft. The purpose of our paper is to open up space for opportunities in mathematics education using integral mindfulness as the rudder to readjust our bearings. More specifically, through conceptual analyses and making explicit the currents of change, disorder, and technology, we can apply discernment to these metaphors that intersect our pedagogy to re-align efforts and attitudes toward an integrated (aperspectival) culture of mathematics education. Through …


Middle School Students Generating Mathematical Problems From A Real-Life Situation, David Coffland, Ying Xie Jan 2022

Middle School Students Generating Mathematical Problems From A Real-Life Situation, David Coffland, Ying Xie

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this study, we examined the effect of different presentation formats of a realistic situation on students’ mathematical problem-posing behavior. We divided thirty-six middle school students into two groups, gave them a pretest, and then showed them a realistic, problem-posing situation in Artifact or Video format. We used Silver’s core dimensions of creativity, namely fluency, flexibility, and originality, to measure participants’ problem-posing activity. The results for the fluency measures showed that the Artifact group wrote more questions than the Video group but the same number of mathematics problems. The Video group posed problems in more mathematical domains than the Artifact …