Play and pre-proving in the primary classroom

Maria Pericleous (1) , David Pratt

1 University of London [London]

This report focuses on a research study the aim of which is to investigate the activity of proving as constituted in a Cypriot classroom for 12-year-old students. By drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, this study explores the way the teacher is working with the students to foreground mathematical argumentation. Analyses of video-recorded whole class discussions show how explaining and exploring provide a key pathway for the development of proving. We refer to these developments as pre-proving. However, inherent contradictions within explaining and exploring hinder the constitution of proving in the classroom.

Keywords: Proof; exploration; explanation; play; CHAT

Domains: Mathematics [math]; Humanities and Social Sciences

Maria Pericleous, David Pratt. Play and pre-proving in the primary classroom. CERME 10, Feb 2017, Dublin, Ireland. ⟨hal-01865653⟩