Education News Autumn2017web (2) | Page 15

Book offers new theory for teaching and learning mathematics

Dr . G ale R us sell
Dr . Gale Russell is the author of a new book released this summer entitled Transreform Radical Humanism : A Mathematics and Teaching Philosophy ( Sense Publishers ).
The book is based upon Russell ' s doctoral dissertation in which a methodological collage of auto / ethnography , Gadamerian hermeneutics , and grounded theory was used to analyze a diverse collection of data related to mathematics and the teaching and learning of mathematics . Data considered in the book includes the author ’ s evolving relationship with mathematics ; the philosophies of mathematics ; the “ math wars ”; the achievement gap for Indigenous students in mathematics ; some of the lessons learned from ethnomathematics ; and risk education ( as an emerging topic within mathematics curricula ).
Foundational to this analysis is a new theoretical framework proposed and implemented by Russell that encompasses an Indigenous worldview and the Traditional Western worldview , acting as a pair of voices ( and lenses ) that speak to the points of tension , conflict , and possibility found throughout the data . Analysis of the data sets resulted in the emergence of a new theory , the Transreform
Approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics as well as the transreform radical humanistic philosophy of mathematics and teaching .
Within the book , mathematics , the teaching and learning of mathematics , hegemony , and the valuing of different kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing collide , sometimes merge , and most frequently become transformed in ways that hold promise for students , teachers , society , and even mathematics itself . Throughout , the incommensurability of the two worldviews is challenged , and new possibilities emerge . Russell hopes that readers will not just read this work , but will engage with it , exploring the kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing that they value within mathematics and the teaching and learning of mathematics and why .
Photos Credit : Shuana Niessen
The new Faculty of Education Student Services centre , located on the third floor of the Education Building , brings together the faculty and staff from the General Office , the undergraduate Student Program Centre , the Office of Research and Graduate Programs in Education , and the Professional Development and Field Experiences Office , making this a one-stop point of access for students , staff , and faculty . General Administrator Rochelle Fenwick , who oversaw the construction of the new space , says , " Already students , staff and faculty have commented on how convenient the new Student Services is ."
Education News | Page 15