Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 53 Issue 2, June 2015
25 – 30
Mathematical Thinking: An Argument for Not Defining Your Terms
Shelley Barton
A hum of activity ebbs and flows in the room. Seated at round tables, the participants are all engaged, although not all in the same fashion. Some are noisily working in pairs, meticulously laying out rows of neatly organized dominos, row upon row. Some are working independently, slowly, thoughtfully, rearranging the dominos in front of them. As progress is made, the ideas flow through the room, rushing by those who already know, and forcing others to pull their attention from their own thoughts and attend to the ideas in the room. This is the picture of a room learning-as Doll ( 1989) writes, a room that is doing “more dancing and less marching” (p 67). This productive hive of activity is the outcome of a good mathematics problem. However the participants are not students-they are teachers.
