Abstract
So far, our notion of webbing has emphasised meaning-making as the preserve of the isolated individual and teacher, and a domain of abstraction comprising a student in seclusion with a suitable means of expression. In this chapter we redress this imbalance, and take steps to reinstate the corollaries of Hammer’s existence theorem by addressing some of the problematic issues surrounding the collaborative construction of mathematical knowledge. While maintaining a respect for the individuality of student contributions, we take the first of several steps towards appreciating more broadly the culture in which students construct mathematical sense, and the diverse meanings brought to bear on any problem situation.
The most neglected existence theorem in mathematics is the existence of people. P.C. Hammer, cited in Pimm (1987, p. xvii)
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Noss, R., Hoyles, C. (1996). Beyond the Individual Learner. In: Windows on Mathematical Meanings. Mathematics Education Library, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1696-8_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1696-8_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-4074-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1696-8
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