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A Journey in Mathematics Education ResearchLearning from Distributed Theories of Intelligence

A Journey in Mathematics Education Research: Learning from Distributed Theories of Intelligence [The analysis reported in this article is grounded in the practice of classroom-based developmental or transformational research and focuses on the distributed views of intelligence developed by Pea (1993) and by Hutchins (1995). The general areas of agreement with this theoretical perspective include both the nondualist orientation and the critical role attributed to tool use. Against this background, I focus on two aspects of the distributed view that I and my colleagues have found necessary to modify for our purposes. The first concerns the legitimacy of taking the individual as the unit of analysis, and here I argue that the distributed view implicitly accepts key tenets of mainstream American psychology’s characterization of the individual even as it explicitly rejects it. The second modification concerns distributed intelligence’s characterization of tool use. Drawing on a distinction made by Dewey, I argue that it is more useful for the purposes of instructional design to focus on activity that involves using the tool as an instrument, rather than focusing on the tool itself.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Journey in Mathematics Education ResearchLearning from Distributed Theories of Intelligence

Part of the Mathematics Education Library Book Series (volume 48)
Editors: Sfard, Anna; Gravemeijer, Koeno; Yackel, Erna
Cobb, Paul
Springer Journals — Nov 3, 2010
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21 pages

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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
ISBN
978-90-481-9728-6
Pages
85 –105
DOI
10.1007/978-90-481-9729-3_7
Publisher site
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Abstract

[The analysis reported in this article is grounded in the practice of classroom-based developmental or transformational research and focuses on the distributed views of intelligence developed by Pea (1993) and by Hutchins (1995). The general areas of agreement with this theoretical perspective include both the nondualist orientation and the critical role attributed to tool use. Against this background, I focus on two aspects of the distributed view that I and my colleagues have found necessary to modify for our purposes. The first concerns the legitimacy of taking the individual as the unit of analysis, and here I argue that the distributed view implicitly accepts key tenets of mainstream American psychology’s characterization of the individual even as it explicitly rejects it. The second modification concerns distributed intelligence’s characterization of tool use. Drawing on a distinction made by Dewey, I argue that it is more useful for the purposes of instructional design to focus on activity that involves using the tool as an instrument, rather than focusing on the tool itself.]

Published: Nov 3, 2010

Keywords: Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) design theory; Distributed theories of intelligence; Semiotic mediation; Tool use; Classroom-based instructional design heuristics; Communal classroom practices

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