Landscapes of investigation

Ole Skovsmose

pp. 31-48

in: Ole Skovsmose (ed), An invitation to critical mathematics education, Rotterdam, SensePublishers, 2011

Abstract

In order to establish meaningful mathematics education and to make the students active learners, there are no simple principles to be applied. Meaningfulness is something that needs to be searched for. One suggestion is to search outside the school mathematics tradition, and I have been fascinated by the possibilities that project work may offer. However, project work cannot be presented as a universal recipe for providing meaningful activities for the students. In order to broaden the search for educational possibilities, I will explore landscapes of investigation.30 Such a landscape provides an environment for teaching-learning activities. While sequences of exercises, so characteristic for the school mathematics tradition, establish a one-way route through the curriculum, the possible routes through a landscape of investigation are not welldefined.