Mathematical modelling is endorsed as both a means and an end to learning mathematics. Despite its utility and inclusion as a curricular objective, one of many questions remaining about learners' modelling regards how modelers choose relevant situational attributes and express mathematical relationships in terms of them. Research on quantitative…

There is a longstanding conversation in the mathematics education literature about proofs that explain versus proofs that only convince. In this essay, we offer a characterization of explanatory proofs with three goals in mind. We first propose a theory of explanatory proofs for mathematics education in terms of representation systems. Then, we…

A great deal of progress has been made in dealing with the multiplicity and diversity of theories in mathematics education. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the opportunities offered by conflicts, tensions, and paradoxes among accepted yet opposing theoretical perspectives for theory building and theory advancement. In this…

Our study aims to determine how Habermas' construct of rationality can serve to identify and interpret the difficulties experienced by university students in the mathematical problem-solving process. To this end, a problem which required modelling and solving a differential equation was used. The problem-solving processes of university students…

In a recent article published in this journal, Williams ("Educational Studies in Mathematics, 92," 59-72, 2016) offers a critique of neo-Vygotskian perspectives exemplified in recent work on the "funds of knowledge" and on "cultural-historical activity theoretic" perspectives. The critique has great value in that it…

The referential theory of meaning as well as the use-oriented theory of meaning have huge impacts on the discussion of meaning in mathematics education. Here, I present a third theory in terms of an intentionality interpretation of meaning, which provides an alternative departure for the discussion of meaning in mathematics education. The…

This paper presents a networking of two theories, the APOS Theory and the ontosemiotic approach (OSA), to compare and contrast how they conceptualize the notion of a mathematical object. As context of reflection, we designed an APOS genetic decomposition for the derivative and analyzed it from the point of view of OSA. Results of this study show…

The notion of flow of a proof encapsulates mathematical, didactical, and contextual aspects of proof presentation. A proof may have different flows, depending on the lecturer's choices regarding its presentation. Adopting Perelman's New Rhetoric (PNR) as a theoretical framework, we designed methods to assess aspects of the flow of a proof. We…

The initial assumption of this article is that there is an overemphasis on abstraction-from-actions theoretical approaches in research on knowing and learning mathematics. This article uses a critical reflection on research on students' ways of constructing mathematical concepts to distinguish between abstraction-from-actions theoretical…

Proving an existence theorem is less intuitive than proving other theorems. This article presents a semiotic analysis of significant fragments of classroom meaning-making which took place during the class-session in which the existence of the midpoint of a line-segment was proven. The purpose of the analysis is twofold. First follow the evolution…

We develop theory within the field of mathematics education based on analysis of an imported theory--positioning theory--and the way it is used in the field. After summarizing positioning theory, we identify some conceptual fuzziness, particularly in core terms "positioning" and "storyline." We offer Lemke's idea of timescales…

Recent theoretical advances on learning (mathematics) emphasize the fact that what results from engagement with curriculum materials is not entirely in the control of the students in the way classical theories of knowing and learning suggest. These new theories distinguish themselves by either invoking distributed agency, some of which is…

In the research reported in this paper, we develop a theoretical perspective to describe and account for the growth of collective mathematical understanding. We discuss collective processes in mathematics, drawing in particular on theoretical work in the domains of improvisational jazz and theatre. Using examples of data from a study of elementary…

The research is a study of the Husserlian approach to intuition, informed by Merleau-Ponty's theory of perception, in the case of a prospective teacher of mathematics. It explores the two major stages-categories of intuition, the essential relations between them, and their vital role in the emergence of empirical and abstract mathematical…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of mathematics education as a research domain, identifying and briefly discussing four shifts or historical moments. They illustrate how researchers working in various moments conceptualize not only the interactions among teachers, students, and mathematics differently but also teachers, students,…