Learning Discourse: Discursive approaches to research in mathematics education

by Carolyn Kieran (Editor), Ellice Ann Forman (Editor), Anna Sfard (Editor)

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.

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999