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Mathematics Education in Different Contexts

  • Claus Michelsen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

According to the famous Dutch researcher in mathematics education Hans Freudenthal, mathematics is a human activity, and curriculum theory is not a pre-stated set of theories, aims and means, contents, and methods. Rather, it is always related to processes with well-chosen practical problems from daily life, and in solving these, mathematical understanding was gradually developed. With Freudenthal’s educational credo as the starting point and based on the MACAS proceedings, this paper underscores an important aspect of this approach, namely that curiosity and inquiry extend from a context which is not necessarily purely mathematical. Mathematics is presented in five different educational contexts: (i) mathematics and science, (ii) mathematics and art, (iii) mathematics and technology, (iv) mathematics and literature, and (v) mathematics and citizenship. The contexts reflect that when mathematical entities appear in different contexts, common aspects can be found between creative work in mathematics and art, and in regarding mathematics as part of human culture, and as part of mankind’s struggle to understand the world. With reference to mathematics education as a design science, it is concluded that frameworks that closely link analysis of mathematics content structure, analysis of the educational significance of that content, research on teaching and learning processes, and the development of instructional sequences are needed.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMathematics and Its Connections to the Arts and Sciences (MACAS) : 15 Years of Interdisciplinary Mathematics Education
EditorsClaus Michelsen, Astrid Beckmann, Viktor Freiman, Uffe Thomas Jankvist, Annie Savard
PublisherSpringer
Publication date2022
Pages31–42
ISBN (Print)9783031105203, 9783031105173
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
SeriesMathematics Education in the Digital Era
Volume19
ISSN2211-8136

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