| Thorsten Scheiner , David M. Bowers - Vol. 43 Num. 1 (2023) | ||
| Problematizing the metaphors of unpacking, deconstructing, and decompressing mathematics | 9-13 | |
| ABSTRACT: This paper problematizes the metaphors of unpacking, deconstructing, and decompressing mathematics that are prevalent in discourses about mathematics teacher knowledge. It is argued that the logic of these metaphors is based on the reversibility of packing, constructing, and compressing mathematics and seems to suggest the view that knowledge is in some ways similar to physical objects in the material world that can be taken apart and put back together. Although such a view may be intuitively compelling, it is problematic and misleading in light of existing research on mathematical knowing and learning. Moreover, these metaphors can be understood as playing a role in the ongoing process of colonization, and as such must be conscientiously and critically understood, applied, and analyzed. | ||