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The Construct of ‘Resource System’ as an Analytic Tool in Understanding the Work of Teaching

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The ‘Resource’ Approach to Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Advances in Mathematics Education ((AME))

Abstract

This chapter examines professionally situated notions of ‘resource system’ relevant to the work of teaching, giving specific attention to mathematics teaching. Two historically significant exemplars are examined in the form of Euclid’s Elements as a systematic logical organisation of resources and Durell’s A New Geometry as a systematic didactical organisation of resources. Noting a subsequent shift towards the use of multi-sourced collections of resources, the chapter examines how teachers create organised systems, considering the evolving notions of ‘resource system’ in two contemporary theoretical frames: structuring features of classroom practice (Ruthven K, Education & Didactique 3:131–149, 2009) and the documentational approach (Gueudet G, Trouche L, Educational Studies in Mathematics 71:199–218, 2009). Different perspectives situate ‘resource system’ in contrasting ways: as adhering to a particular type of agent (teacher, student, designer) or as intervening between such agents; as relating to a specific educational entity (especially the classroom, the course or the lesson) or as ranging across and beyond these. Professionals and researchers have clearly found each of these variations useful for some purpose: an implication is that we could benefit from an expanded notion of ‘resource system’ which acknowledges all these dimensions and encourages users of the term to take more explicit account of them.

This chapter originates from a lecture given to the Re(s)sources 2018 International Conference. Video in English, with French subtitles at http://video.ens-lyon.fr/ife/2018/2018-05-28_002_Ressources2018_Kenneth_Ruthven_v1.fra.mp4

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Initials of forenames included to distinguish C.V. Durell from his American contemporary author of mathematics textbooks, F. Durell.

  2. 2.

    As, for example, does recent research using the documentational approach to study the use of digital resources by students in higher education (Gueudet & Pepin 2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Kenneth Ruthven

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  1. Kenneth Ruthven
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Correspondence to Kenneth Ruthven .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Français de l’Education, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France

    Luc Trouche

  2. CREAD, ESPE Bretagne, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, RENNES, France

    Ghislaine Gueudet

  3. Eindhoven School of Education- ESoE, Eindhoven University of Technology- TU/e, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Birgit Pepin

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Ruthven, K. (2019). The Construct of ‘Resource System’ as an Analytic Tool in Understanding the Work of Teaching. In: Trouche, L., Gueudet, G., Pepin, B. (eds) The ‘Resource’ Approach to Mathematics Education. Advances in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20393-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20393-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20392-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20393-1

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