C. Kieran - Böcker

In the international research community, the teaching and learning of algebra have received a great deal of interest. The difficulties encountered by students in school algebra show the misunderstandings that arise in learning at different school levels and raise important questions concerning the functioning of algebraic reasoning, its characteristics, and the situations conducive to its favorable development. This book looks closely at some options that aim at giving meaning to algebra, and which are considered in contemporary research: generalization, problem solving, modeling, and functions. Salient research on these four perspectives addressed the question of the emergence and development of algebraic thinking by a dual focus on epistemological (via the history of the development of algebra) and didactic concerns. Through the theoretical issues raised and discussed, and the indication of given situations which can promote the development of algebraic thinking, this work will be of interest and value to researchers and teachers in the field of mathematics education.

In the international research community, the teaching and learning of algebra have received a great deal of interest. The difficulties encountered by students in school algebra show the misunderstandings that arise in learning at different school levels and raise important questions concerning the functioning of algebraic reasoning, its characteristics, and the situations conducive to its favorable development. This book looks more closely at some options that aim at giving meaning to algebra, and which are considered in contemporary research: generalization, problem solving, modeling, and functions. Salient research on these four perspectives addressed the question of the emergence and development of algebraic thinking by a dual focus on epistemological (via the history of the development of algebra) and didactic concerns. Through the theoretical issues raised and discussed, and the indication of given situations which can promote the development of algebraic thinking, this work will be of interest and value to researchers and teachers in the field of mathematics education.

The authors of this volume claim that mathematics can be usefully re-conceptualized as a special form of communication. As a result, the familiar discussion of mental schemes, misconceptions, and cognitive conflict is transformed into a consideration of activity, patterns of interaction, and communication failure. By equating thinking with communicating, the discursive approach also deconstructs the problematic dichotomy between "individual" and "social" research perspectives. Although each author applies his or her own analyses to the discourse generated by students and teachers grappling with mathematical problems, their joint aim is to put discursive research into the limelight and to spur thinking about its nature and its possible advantages and pitfalls. This volume is therefore addressed both to those interested in specific questions regarding classroom communication, and to those who are looking for a general conceptual lens with which to tackle the complexity of mathematical teaching and learning.