Matematicas y Polimatia

Mathematical paradoxes as pathways into beliefs and polymathy: an experimental inquiry

Bharath Sriraman¹

(1)	Department of Mathematics, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA

Accepted: 28 June 2008 Published online: 29 July 2008

Abstract This paper addresses the role of mathematical paradoxes in fostering polymathy among pre-service elementary teachers. The results of a 3-year study with 120 students are reported with implications for mathematics pre-service education as well as interdisciplinary education. A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach is used to recreate the emotions, voices and struggles of students as they tried to unravel Russell’s paradox presented in its linguistic form. Based on the gathered evidence some arguments are made for the benefits and dangers in the use of paradoxes in mathematics pre-service education to foster polymathy, change beliefs, discover structures and open new avenues for interdisciplinary pedagogy.

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11858-008-0110-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Keywords Beliefs - Interdisciplinarity - Paradoxes - Pre-service teacher education - Polymathy - Russell’s paradox