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Aspects of the Nature and State of Research in Mathematics Education

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Abstract

This paper offers an outline and a characterisation of the didactics of mathematics, alias the science of mathematics education, as a scientific and scholarly discipline, and discusses why its endeavours should be of interest to research mathematicians (and other mathematics professionals). It further presents and discusses a number of major, rather aggregate findings in the discipline, including the astonishing complexity of mathematical learning, the key role of domain specificity, obstacles produced by the process-object duality, students' alienation from proof and proving, and the marvels and pitfalls of information technology in mathematics education.

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Niss, M. Aspects of the Nature and State of Research in Mathematics Education. Educational Studies in Mathematics 40, 1–24 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003715913784

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