A curriculum of mathematical practices

Abstract

This essay argues for reconceptualising educational curriculum that locates its primacy in practices. The argument is framed around what we consider to be a core purpose of education: to help people 'live well in a world worth living in' (Kemmis, et al, 2014). Living well and learning about what this means in schools is guided by curricula, and conversely, school curricula determine the substance of education. These curricula are typically epistemologically based, framed around the core idea that disciplinary knowledge is stored in texts and 'brains', and this knowledge enables them to make rational decisions. We argue that this understanding of education is too narrow, and as a consequence, severs the relationship between knowing and practising: and in the broader landscape of mathematics education this forms our key provocation here. We propose that a curriculum of mathematical practices is required for human flourishing, where the focus is on mathematical practices rather than predominantly on knowledge. To demonstrate our position, we consider different kinds of mathematical practices needed during the Covid-19 crisis. We examine how a practiceapproach forms the basis for a future-oriented curriculum which might better equip individuals and societies to respond to the conditions which disrupt their everyday circumstances.

The arrival of STEM in the science and mathematics curriculum increases the epistemic demands on teachers

“…This unusual pathway is interesting and worthy of critical analysis, so I will return to it briefly at the end of this paper. The primary concern of this short paper, however, lies in the epistemic capacity of teachers to fluently negotiate the tensions between the disciplinary and sociocultural/workforce (Collins & Evans, 2002;Grootenboer et al, 2021;Nugent et al, 2015) demands that are growing as the Australian Curriculum develops. To do this, I begin by offering some thinking on assessment, or how we know what is happening in teaching and learning.…”