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Transdisciplinarity, Critical Mathematics Education, Eco-justice, and the Politics to Come

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Transdisciplinarity in Mathematics Education

Abstract

This chapter proposes a vision of transdisciplinary mathematics education that takes into account the sociopolitical nature of mathematics education and approaches to sustainability that go beyond the savior status of mathematics. In the three sections of the chapter, we discuss transdisciplinarity by positioning mathematics as equal partner with other disciplines and worldviews, argue that mathematics and mathematics education should be also viewed as perpetrators in the sustainability and social justice discourse, and explore transdisciplinary mathematics education for sustainability in pedagogical settings. Finally, we offer a list of possible discussion questions for educators considering the topic of food waste.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA

    Nenad Radakovic

  2. Department of Mathematical Sciences, Appalachian State University, 342 Walker Hall, 121 Bodenheimer Dr, Boone, NC, 28608, USA

    Travis Weiland

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Regina, 3737 Waskana Pkwy, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada

    Jesse Bazzul

Authors
  1. Nenad Radakovic
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  2. Travis Weiland
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  3. Jesse Bazzul
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nenad Radakovic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Limin Jao

  2. Department of Teacher Education, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

    Nenad Radakovic

Appendix: Possible Discussion Questions for Teachers

Appendix: Possible Discussion Questions for Teachers

  1. 1.

    How important is food in your daily routine?

  2. 2.

    How much food would you estimate you throw away on a weekly basis?

  3. 3.

    What factors contribute to you throwing food away?

  4. 4.

    How much food would you estimate is being thrown away in the cafeteria in your school each day?

  5. 5.

    Does food being wasted at your school bother you?

  6. 6.

    What factors do you think contribute to food being wasted at your school?

  7. 7.

    How do you think mathematization might play a role in contributing to the food wasted at your school?

  8. 8.

    How might mathematization be used to help reduce the food wasted at your school?

  9. 9.

    What might you do to better understand the issues of food waste at your school?

  10. 10.

    What mathematics do you think would be involved in investigating the issue of food waste at your school?

  11. 11.

    How might you engage your students in investigating the issue of food waste at your school connected to your mathematics curriculum?

  12. 12.

    What are the ethical issues of the food waste/consumption in your community?

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Radakovic, N., Weiland, T., Bazzul, J. (2018). Transdisciplinarity, Critical Mathematics Education, Eco-justice, and the Politics to Come. In: Jao, L., Radakovic, N. (eds) Transdisciplinarity in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63624-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63624-5_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63623-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63624-5

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