Raum M411, Mathematikgebäude

This talk describes some theoretical ideas about affect as a system of internal representation [Vorstellungssystem] for mathematics, developed jointly with Valerie DeBellis, Yakov Epstein, Roberta Schorr, and other collaborators. We seek to describe the complex affect and meta-affect that can occur when students in the social context of a U.S. urban, inner-city classroom engage in conceptually challenging mathematics. Building on some earlier work describing idealized affective pathways in interaction with mathematical problem solving heuristics, we formulate and discuss the concept of an “archetypal affective structure.” We describe several examples with important consequences – positive and negative – for mathematics education.

Herr Prof. Gerald A. Goldin

Rutgers University, USA