The computer as a cultural influence in mathematical learning |
| |
| Authors: | Richard Noss |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL London, UK |
| |
| Abstract: | My starting point in this paper is that there is a cultural gap between the mathematics that children do as part of their everyday experience and the mathematics that they learn at school; my thesis is that the computer has (perhaps uniquely) the potential to bridge this divide. The paper will examine the cultural impact-both actual and potential-of the computer on children's mathematical education; at the ways in which the introduction of the computer does and will changes the ambient space in which children learn mathematics.I begin with a brief discussion of the cultural context of mathematics learning and the relationship between informal, everyday mathematical activity, and formal, school mathematies. This perspective leads to a closer examination of what it means to do mathematics, and on the relationship of a technology to the mathematics embedded within a given culture. I discuss the issue of injecting meaning into mathematical activity, and then examine some ways in which the computer might offer a solution to this central problem. Next, I give some examples of the influence of the computer on the culture of the mathematics classroom. Finally, I suggest some of the outstanding issues of research and curriculum development which remain.This paper is based on substantially the same data as is discussed in an article inCultural Dynamics. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
