MACAS3 - Speakers

Wolff-Michael Roth

University of Victroria

Canada

"Mathematics in the Everyday World and at Work: Prolegomena for Rethinking the Concept of Interdisciplinarity"

In the classical psychological understanding, knowledge is something in the heads of people that is applied in practical situations, whether these are mathematical activities of mathematicians or those of people in other professions or in the everyday world. Much less considered is the possibility that the very nature of mathematics in the everyday world and in the professions (e.g., among the fish culturists, electricians, ecologists, water technicians, or experimental biologist that I have research in the past) is inherently different. If this is indeed the case, then transferability of some assumed to be fixed mathematical knowledge into other domains would be impossible. In this plenary talk, I will present empirical findings concerning the nature of mathematics in a variety of disciplines and show how the knowledge differs across the field. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology and cultural-historical activity theory, I will argue that mathematics in these fields should be expected to be different. This has implications for the way in which we think about mathematics and interdisciplinarity.

Nathalie Sinclair

Simon Fraser University

Canada

"Aesthetics as a liberating force in mathematics education"

My talk will present different meanings associated with contemporary scholarship on the aesthetic dimension of inquiry and experience, and use them to suggest possibilities for challenging widely-held beliefs about the elitist and/or frivolous nature of aesthetic concerns in mathematics education. By relating aesthetics to emerging areas of interest in mathematics education such as affect, embodiment and enculturation, as well as to issues of power and discourse, I will argue for aesthetic awareness as a liberating, and also connective force in mathematics education.

Tinne Hoff Kjeldsen

Roskilde University

Denmark

"Integrating history and philosophy in interdisciplinary mathematics and science education"

In this talk I will discuss how and in what sense mathematics can engage in interdisciplinary work with history to contribute to general educational goals, and to the learning of mathematics. The theoretical foundation of the discussion is a competency based understanding of mastery of mathematics and a multiple perspective approach to the history of the practice of mathematics. Methodologically, in-depth analyses of project reports written by students at the interdisciplinary two-year entrance study programme in science at Roskilde University have been applied. As illustration two project reports have been selected; one on application of mathematics in cell biology in the 1930s and one on physics’ influence on the development of differential equations in ‘pure’ mathematics in the 1690s. The analysis of the projects within the proposed theoretical framework will be presented and discussed with respect to their potential for developing 1) students’ mathematical competence and 2) students’ reflections and critique of mathematics as a historical product as well as its function and interplay in and with science.

Dave Wagner

University of New Brunswick

Canada

"Intercultural Positioning in Mathematics”

Tracing the development of an ethnomathematical research project in First
Nations communities on Canada¹s east coast, I show how positioning theory
informed both the interpretation and direction of the research. Intersecting
cultural and/or disciplinary demands raise questions about values and about
structures of authority, which are especially significant in educational
settings. I argue that intercultural and cross-disciplinary experiences are
fertile ground for developing alternative forms of positioning, for
innovative practice, and for developing understanding of the relevant
cultures and disciplines and their interrelationships.

Plenary speakers

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