One Teacher and a Class of School Students: Their perception of the culture of their mathematics classroom and its construction

Abstract

A BSTR ACTIn this paper, the culture of the mathematics classroom is inspected throug h the lens of one teacher and one class of school students. The intention here is to privilege the voices of the participants, particularly those of the young people themselves, whose views and experiences are sometimes absent from educational studies. A metaphor of spaciousness is invoked in drawing together curriculum, pedagogy, epistemology and classroom practices and relationships. In the classroom under study, the students developed connected and authoritative understanding s abou t the nature of mathematics; they linked these to the classroom relationships and linked these in turn to the curriculum. The comments from the students suggest that a reappraisal and renegotiation of what it means to be a teacher in the secondary mathematics classroom is timely.

Affective productions of mathematical experience

“…It was through his affective-evaluative schema that Mr Polson was able to make a change from traditional practice. In a similar way to the teacher in a study undertaken by Angier and Povey (1999), he worked hard at developing a web of relationships that allowed every student to develop the sense of belonging. As in Spinoza's ontology, collaboration amongst the class, viewed as collectivity rather than individuals coming together, was imperative to the development of their potential.…”

Ecologies of participation in school classrooms

“…There have long been alternative practices, for example emphasising pupil inquiry, open mathematical tasks, pupil discussion and social construction of knowledge. In such classrooms the relation to mathematics, classroom practice, and relationships between participants are very different (see Angier & Povey, 1999;Boaler 2006Boaler , 2008. Different forms of participation are possible and Lave and Wenger's model of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice will be more applicable.…”

“…It is possible, depending on circumstances, for teachers to ameliorate the worst aspects of school mathematics and in some cases to substitute alternative more transformative practices (see for example, Angier & Povey, 1999;Gutstein, 2006;Boaler, 2006Boaler, , 2008. Teachers" power to significantly shape or change specific mathematical practices (as understood as curriculum content) is limited, bound as they are into regulatory assessment regimes.…”

Designing mathematics classes to promote equity and engagement

“…A highly consistent area of education research shows the value of collaborative learning (Angier & Povey, 1999;Boaler, 2009;Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000;Cohen, 1994;Engle & Conant, 2002;Leikin & Zaslavsky, 1997;Webb & Palinscar, 1996). In mathematics, students report that discussing ideas gives access to understanding and makes the discipline more interesting and engaging (Boaler, 2008a,b;Boaler & Staples, 2008;Brodie, 2010;Yackel, Cobb, & Wood, 1991Yackel, Cobb & Wood, 1991.…”