Mathematical and pedagogical perspectives on warranting: approximating the root of 18

Authors

  • Jason Cooper Instituto Weizmann de Ciencias Rehovot. Departamento de Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Israel.
  • Alon Pinto Instituto Weizmann de Ciencias Rehovot. Departamento de Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Israel

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33044/revem.26933

Keywords:

Mathematical warranting, mathematical validity, interacting perspectives.

Abstract

“The square root of 18 is closer to 4 than it is to 5 because 18 is closer to 16 than it is to 25”. Is this statement, voiced in an 8th grade class, valid? We suggest hypothetical arguments upon which this statement might be based, and analyze them from two complementary perspectives – epistemic and pedagogical – drawing on Toulmin’s notion of field-dependence in argumentation and on Freeman’s classification of warrants based on the type of underlying intuition, belief or prior understanding. We propose that our investigation of this statement may serve as a model for inquiry in teacher preparation.

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References

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Freeman, J. B. (2005). Systematizing Toulmin’s warrants: an epistemic approach. Argumentation, 19(3), 331-346.

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Toulmin, S. E. (1958). The Uses of Argument. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Published

2019-12-16

How to Cite

Cooper, J. ., & Pinto, . A. (2019). Mathematical and pedagogical perspectives on warranting: approximating the root of 18. Revista De Educación Matemática, 34(3), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.33044/revem.26933

Issue

Section

Trabajos de Investigación en Educación Matemática