Για παραμύθια και ιστορίες με πειρατές, ξωτικά, γίγαντες και νάνους, δαχτυλίδια, καπετάνιους... αγνώστου ηλικίας, το σαλάχι, τη Madonna και το μεγάλο δράκο των μαθηματικών

Περίληψη

This article is a study, from a pedagogical and socio-psychological point of view, of using the language of stories and fairy tales in Mathematics Education. It is well known that many teachers use this language with much success in their lesson, but the literature seems to be poor in theoretical studies on the subject. The article of Leen Streefland "Search for the roots of ratio-Part I" (EDUCATIONAL STUDIES IN MATHEMATICS, 15 (1984) 327-348) is mentioned and discussed. Following another pattern of thinking, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology have shown how the (so called) "primitive" thought unfolds and crystallizes in Myths, trying to capture in mythical expressions a holistic view and qualitative explanation of universe. There is a striking analogy of this kind of thought with early child's thought and conception of universe, as expressed in children's creations or, later, in their reacting strategies at school- By "telling stories", primitive people and children often mathematize, but they are not aware of their mental constructions. Our main conclusion is that children tend by themselves to express mathematical facts within «mythical» contexts, so they can lead us how to "speak" Mathematics with them.