M433, Mathematikgebäude 4. Etage

The relation between representations and reasoning is fascinating and relevant to our field of mathematics education. Where many philosophers in line with Descartes consider representation to be the fundament for being able to reason, Robert Brandom argues we should reverse this order of explanation and put inference first. Social practices in which people reason and make inferences are the basis on which to explain the meaning of representations. In this talk I explore what we can learn from Brandom’s inferentialism for mathematics and statistics education. I will defend the thesis that we should understand concepts primarily in inferential rather than representational forms, and propose a holistic rather than atomistic approach to teaching mathematics. Last, I will suggest that webbing is a better metaphor of learning than construction, and that inferentialism has benefits over constructivism.

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Dr. Arthur Bakker

Universiteit Utrecht (NL)