Séance Séminaire

From University Mathematics to Mathematics Education

Accessing and enhancing mathematical knowledge via scripting tasks

How can a teacher get a “scan” of a group’s knowledge and understanding of a mathematical topic in order to plan for, or adjust, subsequent instruction? To address this question, I introduce the notion of “lesson play” and its evolution to “script writing” or “scripting”. I short, scripting involves teachers in writing a dialogue between a teacher and students based on a particular mathematical issue. The teacher-character in such a dialogue demonstrates how the script-writer envisions a particular mathematical situation. I will exemplify how the instruction that follows students scripts can be adjusted to connect school teaching to ideas of undergraduate mathematics.