Overview
- Historical analysis of Hans Freudenthal's didactical ideas and didactical career
- Provides a historiography of 'genuine' mathematics and 'realistic' mathematics
- Gives a bibliographic account of Freudenthal's working life
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This study provides a historical analysis of Freudenthal’s didactic ideas and his didactic career. It is partly biographical, but also contributes to the historiography of mathematics education and addresses closely related questions such as: what is mathematics and where does it start? Which role does mathematics play in society and what influence does it have on the prevailing views concerning its accompanying didactics?.
Hans Freudenthal (1905–1990), professor in mathematics, scientist, literator, but above all mathematics-educator, was inextricably linked to the changes which took place in mathematics education and didactics during the second half of the last century. His diversity as a scientist and his inexhaustible efforts to establish the didactics of mathematics as a seriously pursued science, made Freudenthal's influence in this area considerable. He foresaw an essential, practical role for mathematics in everyone’s life, encouraging students to discover and create mathematics themselves, instead of imposing a ready-made mathematical system. The theory of mathematics education thus developed in the Netherlands would gain world fame in the following decades.
Today, in the light of the discussions about mathematics education, in which the call for `genuine’ mathematics instead of the so-called 'kindergarten'-mathematics can be heard, Freudenthal's approach seems to be passé. However, the outcome of this study (which is mainly based on documents from Freudenthal’s vast personal archive) shows a more refined picture. The direct identification of 'kindergarten'-mathematics with Freudenthal’s view on mathematics education is not justified. 'Realistic mathematics' as advocated by Freudenthal includes more than just a practical introductory and should, among other things, always aim at teaching 'genuine' mathematics in the end.
Reviews
“It concentrates on the historical development of Freudenthal’s ideas on the didactics of mathematics. … it would primarily be of interest to mathematics education researchers, especially those who use RME as their theoretical framework and to those interested in the history and development of the field … .” (Annie Selden, MAA Reviews, June, 2015)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: All Positive Action Starts with Criticism
Book Subtitle: Hans Freudenthal and the Didactics of Mathematics
Authors: Sacha la Bastide-van Gemert
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9334-6
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-017-9333-9Published: 27 January 2015
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-024-0178-3Published: 09 October 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-94-017-9334-6Published: 16 January 2015
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 386
Number of Illustrations: 39 b/w illustrations
Topics: Mathematics Education