This paper describes how the notion of the strongly didactic contract can serve to characterize the teaching adopted to implement a task in probability. It is particularly focused on the reality of mathematical work performed by students and teachers. For this research, classroom sessions were developed in an in-service teacher training course…

The networking of theories is an increasingly common and powerful approach to analyzing complex phenomena such as learning processes in classrooms. In this paper, we aim to advance the theoretical coordination of two approaches that we have previously combined to analyze individual, small group, and whole class mathematical progress. The…

Due to the embeddedness of digital technologies in mathematics education of today, we often see examples of students simultaneously using their mathematical competencies and digital competencies. In relevant literature, however, these are not seen as a connected whole. Based on reviewing existing competency frameworks, both mathematical and…

This paper substantiates the notion of inclusive materialism by illustrating the role of signs and micro-perception in the learning process of multiplication. Inclusive materialism, offered by de Freitas and Sinclair, considers mathematical learning a process of becoming a learning assemblage, which embodies various materials in a Deleuzian sense.…

Constructivist learning theories have become the dominant ideology in educational circles, in part, because there is a primacy on the agential individual with its definite identity. However, precisely because "to construct" is a "transitive" verb, it occludes the fact that in learning and development, we come to know something…

In this paper, we draw on the contemporary perspective of inclusive materialism offered by de Freitas and Sinclair to contribute to current discussions on the role of the body in the learning of mathematics. Using the notions of "distributed agency" and "assemblage," we illustrate the way in which three students engage with a…

What is the place of social theory in mathematics education research, and what is it for? This special issue of "Educational Studies in Mathematics" offers insights on what could be the role of some sociological theories in a field that has historically privileged learning theories coming from psychology and mathematics as the main…

This study explored the perspectives of mathematics teacher educator-researchers (MTE-Rs) on the use of theory in facilitating teacher growth. We adopted the framework of the theory-centered scholarship triangle (Silver & Herbst, 2007) to probe the underlying meanings of perspectives on theory use expressed by MTE-Rs. Qualitative analysis…

Mathematics educators have shown increasing interest in theorizing knowing and learning as something alive or as something that comes alive through the involvement of the body. Almost all current efforts attempt doing so by focusing on the body in which the otherwise invisible living being exhibits itself, thereby failing to consider everything…

Examples are believed to be very important in developing conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas, useful both in mathematics research and instruction (Bills & Watson in "Educational Studies in Mathematics" 69:77-79, 2008; Mason & Watson, 2008; Bills & Tall, 1998; Tall & Vinner, 1981). In this study, we draw on the…

Mathematics education as a research domain is characterized by a plurality of theoretical approaches. Acknowledging the existence of such diversity and the risks of an excessive theoretical fragmentation does not mean to search for a unifying theory but to urge the community to develop strategies for coping with this diversity. This article is…

Our study concerns the conceptual mathematical knowledge that emerges during the resolution of tasks on the equivalence of polynomial and rational algebraic expressions, by using CAS and paper-and-pencil techniques. The theoretical framework we adopt is the Anthropological Theory of Didactics ("Chevallard" 19:221-266, 1999), in…

This article presents a theoretical conceptualization of mathematics homework as a social practice. Rather than considering homework as a task or an artifact, this approach frames homework in terms of the social contexts in which students participate and how students participate in those contexts. This perspective has long been suggested by…

Much of the evidence provided in support of the argument that mathematical knowing is embodied/enacted is based on the analysis of gestures and bodily configurations, and, to a lesser extent, on certain vocal features (e.g., prosody). However, there are dimensions involved in the emergence of mathematical knowing and the production of mathematical…

This study is part of a project concerned with the analysis of how students work with two-variable functions. This is of fundamental importance given the role of multivariable functions in mathematics and its applications. The portion of the project we report here concentrates on investigating the relationship between students' notion of subsets…