Engaging in Critical Dialogue about Mathematics

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to highlight the fact that the Philosophy for Children Approach (P4C) can be used to stimulate pupil's reflection within the framework of school subjects such as mathematics. First we situate P4C within the field of socio-constructivist epistemology. Then, P4C as adapted to mathematics (P4CM) is introduced. Finally, we describe an experiment linked to five types of exchanges (anecdotal, monological, simple dialogical, semi-critical dialogical, and critical dialogical), manifested between the beginning and the end of a school year while the pupils were learning to philosophize about mathematics. In the discussion, emphasis is placed on the educational interventions of the teachers who facilitate the P4CM workshops.