Can Economic Knowledge Be Created in Classrooms? Some Insights from Epistemologically-Oriented Interaction Analysis: Mathematical Registers and Metacognitive Mediation Mary-Paz Arrieta-Paredes International Business and Economics Department University of Greenwich, UK Abstract The semiotic and metacognitive dimensions of the Mathematics-Economics alliance are studied to understand the influence of the nature of Economic Education on the nature of Economic Knowledge. Along with the representational character of Mathematics in Economics, one of the features of this long-lasting relationship not explored enough so far, is that the way higher order thinking skills are applied in Mathematics for solving problems, could be used in Economics learning to develop the same sort of skills with direct reference to real-life situations. Being inherently relational, mathematical registers and knowledge structures enable the transferal of problem solving skilfulness from Mathematics to Economics through epistemologically-oriented classroom interaction. Semiotic conceptual thinking underpins this knowledge creation as a collective-meaning creation process. A model called the ‘Learning Hexagram’ emerges. 1. Introduction The semiotic and metacognitive dimensions of the Mathematics-Economics alliance are studied with the aim of understanding the influence of the nature of Economic Education on the nature of Economic Knowledge. Along with the representational character of Mathematics in Economics, one of the features of this long-lasting relationship not explored enough in the Economic Education literature, is that higher order thinking skills applied in Mathematics for solving problems ([3], [21], [36]), could be used in teaching- learning design to develop the same sort of skills with direct reference to reality. In fact, the consolidation of these skills becomes decisive in higher education, consequence of increasingly competitive job markets and much higher governmental funding demands [35]. The present research highlights a different approach to the traditional Economics-Mathematics relationship, which can have an upfront impact on the way Economics is predominantly taught in both College and University. It is felt that being able to make soundly informed decisions is vital to students aiming for a career in Economics and linked disciplines such as Accounting, Business and Finance, either at policy-making or management practice level. 1.1. Rationale It makes sense to assert, the way students are taught to think as economists will eventually reflect on the way they apply economic knowledge to solve real-life economic problems. The closer this knowledge is to reality, the more effective solutions to relevant problems are going to be. This is such simply because being social, Economics deals with human activities that involve people, and being a Science, this ought to be seeking for the understanding of phenomena inherent to individuals that interact to produce, consume and distribute goods and/or services. Therefore, cognition in Economics learning should be drawing from these phenomena. This is so because its epistemic content is to be found in quotidian events. Indeed, the Heideggerian idea of “being-in-the-world” encapsulates the ontology here considered paramount to learning processes: Human beings spontaneously use their rationality in everyday life [22] and this is what they bring to the classroom. Hence, economic knowledge needs to emerge from these everyday situations, which are ultimately man- made and consequently human-biased. The semiotic power of Mathematics ([7], [14]) is what may allow for diverse representations of the contingent reality in order to understand it, call the ‘dialect’ School-learnt, Neoclassical, Bayesian, etc. Most human activities result in a final product: Voting for a political party, doing the garden, building a grass-roots refinery, going into war, trading stocks, having a baby, managing public deficit, undergoing radiotherapy, etc. The fact is, resources are scarce and International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education (IJCDSE), Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2012 Copyright © 2012, Infonomics Society 828