New Directions for Situated Cognition in Mathematics Education

Edited by Anne Watson, University of Oxford

Peter Winbourne, London South Bank University

New Directions for Situated Cognition in Mathematics Education gathers current situated cognition theories as applied to the teaching and learning of mathematics by major thinkers in the field. Arranged to be read cover to cover or by the individual chapter, this unique volume examines situated cognition in all levels and contexts of math instruction, in traditional school settings, in adult education, at home, on the job, or on the street. Well-known authorities explore beyond traditional concepts of good practice and the relationship between knowledge and the learner while synthesizing insights from related perspectives, including semiotics, activity theory, ardinas practice, and Moll's concept of funds of knowledge. The emphasis is not merely on achieving standards or even gaining skills, but on learning as a lifelong activity as chapter authors address such questions as:

• What can math teachers do to make learning vital to children's identity?


• How does situated cognition relate to tacit knowledge?


• In what ways are mathematical abstractions situated?


• Can vocational math skills be learned away from the workplace?


• How is mathematics knowledge transferred from the class to the home environment?

New Directions for Situated Cognition in Mathematics Education provides a diverse, well-organized resource for educators, researchers, and students to approach this powerful theoretical strand.

School Mathematics As A Developmental Activity.- Participating In What? Using Situated Cognition Theory To Illuminate Differences In Classroom Practices.- Social Identities As Learners And Teachers Of Mathematics.- Looking For Learning In Practice: How Can This Inform Teaching.- Are Mathematical Abstractions Situated?.- 'We Do It A Different Way At My School'.- Situated Intuition And Activity Theory Fill The Gap.- The Role Of Artefacts In Mathematical Thinking: A Situated Learning Perspective.- Exploring Connections Between Tacit Knowing And Situated Learning Perspectives In The Context Of Mathematics Education.- Cognition And Institutional Setting.- School Practices With The Mathematical Notion Of Tangent Line.- Learning Mathematically As Social Practice In A Workplace Setting.- Analysing Concepts of Community of Practice.- 'No Way is Can't': A Situated Account of One Woman's Uses and Experiences of Mathematics.

Anne Watson is Reader in Mathematics Education at the University of Oxford. Before that she taught for many years in maintained secondary schools which served socially diverse areas. She now works in teacher education, and her work with students, and in local schools, and her research is characterised by a concern for social justice through education. In particular, the nature of mathematics classrooms and adolescents' relationships within them are a central concern. She has published numerous books, articles and papers for both professional and academic audiences and is often asked to talk to national and international audiences of researchers and practitioners.

Peter Winbourne currently lectures in mathematics education at the London South Bank University. After a long career teaching mathematics in inner city multicultural maintained schools, his passion for mathematics and social equity took him into teacher education, preparing people to work in similar schools. His interests developed from specific focus on the uses of new technologies to support learning to answering difficult questions such as why people should bother to learn at all. In answering these questions he has developed his understanding and ideas of theories of situated cognition, seeing these as illuminating the experiences of individuals as they become the people they are going to be.