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23 - Research in Mathematics Education

What Can It Teach Us about Human Learning?

from Part V - Learning Disciplinary Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

By
Anna Sfard  and
Paul Cobb
Edited by
R. Keith Sawyer
R. Keith Sawyer
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
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Summary

This chapter begins by describing what is unique about mathematics that has made it a central topic in the learning sciences. This research has historically been interdisciplinary, drawing on psychology, mathematics research and theory, and mathematics educators. It then describes two distinct approaches – the acquisitionist and the participationist. The acquisitionist approach considers learning to be what happens when an individual learner acquires mathematical knowledge. This part of the chapter reviews research on misconceptions and conceptual change that has been based in Piaget’s constructivist theories. The participationist approach views learning as originating in social interactions in diverse settings such as classrooms, homes and playgrounds, museums, and workplaces. This approach views learning as a collective sociocultural phenomenon, and uses methodologies such as interaction analysis and design-based research. This chapter concludes with a discussion of how teachers learn to teach mathematics.

Keywords

acquisitionistparticipationistconstructivismconceptual changecollective practicesteacher learning
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences , pp. 467 - 485
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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