The Nature of Mathematics and Its Impact on K-12 Education

What is the nature of mathematics and what should students learn about it? This chapter will contrast the fallibilist and absolutist perspectives to provide an elaboration of the nature of mathematics. Three aspects of the nature of mathematics are identified that K-12 math students should become familiar with. First, they should understand mathematics is a way of knowing. Second, they should recognize that mathematics is tentative, because claims in mathematics are based on assumptions made. Third, mathematics is a creative endeavor. Examples of how each of these three aspects connect to the work of K-12 teachers are described, and considerations for how the nature of mathematics connects to nature of STEM are discussed.