1. The Methods, Benefits and Limitations of Indoctrination in Mathematics Education
- Author
-
Paul A. Wagner
- Subjects
Independent study ,business.industry ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Teaching method ,05 social sciences ,Indoctrination ,0211 other engineering and technologies ,Subject (philosophy) ,050301 education ,General Social Sciences ,021107 urban & regional planning ,Standardized test ,02 engineering and technology ,Deliberation ,Education ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,Argument ,Mathematics education ,Philosophy of education ,business ,0503 education ,Law ,Social Sciences (miscellaneous) ,media_common - Abstract
With mathematics education dominated by practices of standardized test alignment, the quest for mathematical understanding is adrift despite so much talk about the importance of STEM subject matters. To add to the confusion there has long been worries among educators about any curricular programs or instructional practices that can be labeled indoctrinative. The worse combination of practices seems afoot. Standardized testing has led to unmitigated indoctrination throughout much of public education yet the term is indoctrination is shunned as bad pedagogy. The argument here is that entry into any new discipline from times of antiquity to the present necessarily involves responsible and warranted indoctrination. Acknowledging the fruitful role of indoctrination early on should enable educators to benchmark when the practice has become excessive or otherwise inappropriate. Threshold moments demarcate between early instruction enabling the study of math from advanced and independent study wherein students’ development skills of reflection and evaluative deliberation relevant to mathematic thinking.
- Published
- 2021