The situated numeracy of pool builders

In this paper, the argument is made that the use of mathematics and numeracy is highly contextual, with a variety of factors affecting the processes used to resolve certain tasks. It is the author's belief that the knowledge and tools offered by formal mathematics will often not be employed in the non-school context, and that situated learning, or the embedding of mathematics into a 'real life' context, provides learners with a more meaningful process of solving mathematical tasks. This argument is further illustrated through a case study examining the situated mathematics of pool builders. Results indicate that a considerable amount of the learning received by apprentices in the field was through observation and little direct teaching, and that the mathematics used by pool builders was far different than school mathematics, with keen skills of estimation mostly replacing formal measurement. It was found that reliance on formal instruments and techniques was impractical, less effective and in some cases reduced the efficacy of the process. The paper concludes that through the adoption of a situated learning approach the learner becomes immersed in the mathematics culture of their environment.

The monograph from which this paper is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 82.453; selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 82.454 to TD/TNC 82.457.

In this paper, the argument is made that the use of mathematics and numeracy is highly contextual, with a variety of factors affecting the processes used to resolve certain tasks. It is the author's belief that the knowledge and tools offered by formal mathematics will often not be employed in the non-school context, and that situated learning, or the embedding of mathematics into a 'real life' context, provides learners with a more meaningful process of solving mathematical tasks. This argument is further illustrated through a case study examining the situated ...  [+] Show more