Mathematical Metaphors Memories And Mindsets

United States’ students continue to have difficulties with the subject of mathematics. Sometimes it is believed that students aren’t smart enough to master mathematics or that mathematics is just too difficult for all but the chosen few. This book offers an alternative explanation: Students’ difficulties in mathematics can best be understood and explained social scientifically. That is, Learning Theories, Agents of Socialization, and more generally, cultural and social milieu, are relevant in trying to understand individuals’ ideas about mathematics. The book begins by providing an overview of the current status in mathematics education. Popular cultural portrayals of mathematics and mathematicians are examined. The book, then, delves deeper into how students perceive mathematics and mathematicians by examining how students view mathematicians, how students define mathematics, and what themes emerge from students’ mathematical autobiographies and their metaphors. The book describes a semantic differential, in an effort to ascertain the meanings of math that people hold and shows the different patterns of responses among various groups of people. Finally, the book delves into mathematical mindsets, a current approach to understanding mathematical identities, as well as success and failure in mathematics.

This book is about mathematics teaching and learning in Africa during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has evolved to utilize new technologies in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. It is characterized by the fusion of the biological, physical and digital worlds and embodies a new era of innovation in mathematics education, leading to the rapid emergence of new technologies for mathematics teaching and learning. Because 4IR in mathematics education is happening differently in various parts of Africa, the authors of the various chapters in this volume have positioned their work in their respective local contexts. The chapters address a wide variety of interests, concerns, and implications regarding 4IR and Mathematics Education in Africa. Additionally, a number of chapters address teaching mathematics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world. Other chapters discuss the implications of inequalities in Africa that effect mathematics education during 4IR. Chapters also incorporate arguments, observations, and suggestions to, improve and transform the teaching and learning of mathematics in Africa during the 4IR. This book highlights a new era of innovation in mathematics education in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, leading to the rapid emergence of new technologies in mathematics teaching and learning. It is a valuable resource for graduate students, people with research interests in the fourth industrial revolution and mathematics educators at any level, including all mathematics teachers; mathematics education curriculum designers and policymakers.

The Emerald Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions for a Post-Pandemic World offers a sociological examination of the lived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through culture(s) of emotion, offering a refreshing contribution to a new and exciting sub-discipline.

Banish math anxiety and give students of all ages a clear roadmap to success Mathematical Mindsets provides practical strategies and activities to help teachers and parents show all children, even those who are convinced that they are bad at math, that they can enjoy and succeed in math. Jo Boaler—Stanford researcher, professor of math education, and expert on math learning—has studied why students don't like math and often fail in math classes. She's followed thousands of students through middle and high schools to study how they learn and to find the most effective ways to unleash the math potential in all students. There is a clear gap between what research has shown to work in teaching math and what happens in schools and at home. This book bridges that gap by turning research findings into practical activities and advice. Boaler translates Carol Dweck's concept of 'mindset' into math teaching and parenting strategies, showing how students can go from self-doubt to strong self-confidence, which is so important to math learning. Boaler reveals the steps that must be taken by schools and parents to improve math education for all. Mathematical Mindsets: Explains how the brain processes mathematics learning Reveals how to turn mistakes and struggles into valuable learning experiences Provides examples of rich mathematical activities to replace rote learning Explains ways to give students a positive math mindset Gives examples of how assessment and grading policies need to change to support real understanding Scores of students hate and fear math, so they end up leaving school without an understanding of basic mathematical concepts. Their evasion and departure hinders math-related pathways and STEM career opportunities. Research has shown very clear methods to change this phenomena, but the information has been confined to research journals—until now. Mathematical Mindsets provides a proven, practical roadmap to mathematics success for any student at any age.

How we reason with mathematical ideas continues to be a fascinating and challenging topic of research--particularly with the rapid and diverse developments in the field of cognitive science that have taken place in recent years. Because it draws on multiple disciplines, including psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics, and anthropology, cognitive science provides rich scope for addressing issues that are at the core of mathematical learning. Drawing upon the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science, this book presents a broadened perspective on mathematics and mathematical reasoning. It represents a move away from the traditional notion of reasoning as "abstract" and "disembodied", to the contemporary view that it is "embodied" and "imaginative." From this perspective, mathematical reasoning involves reasoning with structures that emerge from our bodily experiences as we interact with the environment; these structures extend beyond finitary propositional representations. Mathematical reasoning is imaginative in the sense that it utilizes a number of powerful, illuminating devices that structure these concrete experiences and transform them into models for abstract thought. These "thinking tools"--analogy, metaphor, metonymy, and imagery--play an important role in mathematical reasoning, as the chapters in this book demonstrate, yet their potential for enhancing learning in the domain has received little recognition. This book is an attempt to fill this void. Drawing upon backgrounds in mathematics education, educational psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science, the chapter authors provide a rich and comprehensive analysis of mathematical reasoning. New and exciting perspectives are presented on the nature of mathematics (e.g., "mind-based mathematics"), on the array of powerful cognitive tools for reasoning (e.g., "analogy and metaphor"), and on the different ways these tools can facilitate mathematical reasoning. Examples are drawn from the reasoning of the preschool child to that of the adult learner.

A study of the cognitive science of mathematical ideas.

The business of cognitive therapy is to transform meanings. What better way to achieve this than through a metaphor? Metaphors straddle two different domains at once, providing a conceptual bridge from a problematic interpretation to a fresh new perspective that can cast one's experiences in a new light. Even the simplest metaphor can be used again and again with different clients, yet still achieve the desired effect. One such example is the 'broken leg' metaphor for depression. Clients with depression are understandably frustrated with their symptoms. They may often push themselves to get better or tell themselves that they should be better by now. As a therapist, it is fair to ask, would the client be so harsh and demanding on herself after getting a broken leg? A broken leg needs time to heal and you need to begin to walk on it gradually as it builds up in strength. "You can't run before you can walk", and if you try, you are likely to make it worse. For many clients this simple metaphor is enlightening, changing their view of their symptoms as a sign of their own laziness and worthlessness, to a view of them as part of an understandable illness, that while open to improvement, cannot get better over night. This book shows just how metaphors can be used productively in CBT as an integral part of the treatment. It describes the use of metaphors for a wide range of problems, including anxiety and depression, and provides countless examples of metaphors that have been used by others in CBT. It brings together in one place hundreds of metaphors that experienced therapists have used to great success. It will be a valuable sourcebook for all cognitive behaviour therapists, as well as those training in CBT.

In this country we have done a poor job of helping students come to see the wonder, beauty and power of mathematics. Standards can be brought into the picture, but unless we think about what it means to truly engage students in mathematics we will continue to be unsuccessful. The goal of this book is to begin to change the way students experience mathematics in the middle and high school classrooms. In this book you will find a theoretical basis for this approach to teaching mathematics, multiple guides and questions for teachers to think about in relation to their everyday teaching, and over 30 examples of problems, lessons, tasks, and projects that been used effectively with urban students.