Rethinking failure in mathematics education: A historical appeal. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Trninic, Dragan; Wagner, Roy; Kapur, Manu
• Is Part Of: Thinking skills and creativity. Volume 30(2018)
• Page Start: 76
• Page End: 89
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Learning from failure -- Productive failure -- History of mathematics -- Mathematical practice -- Explorative practice -- Mathematics education -- Negotiable failure; Thought and thinking -- Periodicals; Critical thinking -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Creative thinking -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Thinking -- Periodicals; Creativeness -- Periodicals; Teaching -- Periodicals; Pensée -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; Créativité (Éducation) -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; 370.15205
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2018.03.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1871-1871

Abstract

Highlights: Mathematical practice often preceded the kinds of formalization that we currently expect to ground it. Negotiating the boundary between failure and success historically acted as a fountainhead of insight and creativity. Contemporary mathematics classrooms lack opportunities for students to engage in "negotiable failure." Approaches like productive failure hold promise for fostering creativity via generating more dialogical classroom engagements. Abstract: Although failure can be seen as unproductive or even counterproductive in mathematics classrooms, historical evidence suggests that negotiations around failure can act as a fountainhead of creative insight. To make this claim, we focus in particular on the historical development of mathematical formalisms. We survey recent scholarship supporting the notion that "failure" may be used productively in the classroom, and offer tentative suggestions as to how elements of "negotiable failure" may be implemented as an extension and elaboration of existing work on productive failure.