Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources

Mark Watford; Kathleen Michelle Clark

doi:10.29333/iejme/15477

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Mark Watford ¹ ^* , Kathleen Michelle Clark ²

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¹ School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA² School of Education and Human Sciences, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

We describe an exploration informed by transgressionism and supported by data collected from students’ report of learning abstract algebra via curriculum materials where primary historical sources are central to their design, namely Primary Source Projects (PSPs). PSPs require students to actively engage with primary source texts written by historical mathematicians and counter students’ more traditional mathematical learning experiences. We explore the components forming transgressive triads consisting of outcomes of transgressive actions taken to overcome boundaries encountered in students’ study of mathematics. Particularly, we focus on transgressive actions undertaken by students and provide exemplars identified from data to empirically support our theoretical conceptualisations. We end with a discussion by proposing research that draws upon transgressions in both learning mathematics via PHS in particular and with regard to other approaches in undergraduate mathematics education which may place students in contexts in which their familiar is made unfamiliar.

Keywords

transgressions
primary historical sources
undergraduate mathematics education

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 19, Issue 4, November 2024, Article No: em0794

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

Publication date: 15 Oct 2024

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How to cite this article

APA

Watford, M., & Clark, K. M. (2024). Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 19(4), em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

Vancouver

Watford M, Clark KM. Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2024;19(4):em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

AMA

Watford M, Clark KM. Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2024;19(4), em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

Chicago

Watford, Mark, and Kathleen Michelle Clark. "Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2024 19 no. 4 (2024): em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

Harvard

Watford, M., and Clark, K. M. (2024). Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 19(4), em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477

MLA

Watford, Mark et al. "Investigating transgressive actions undertaken by students while studying mathematics via primary sources". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 19, no. 4, 2024, em0794. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/15477