Developing students' collaboration in a mathematics classroom through dramatic activities

Abstract

This paper presents the opportunities that students' participation in playing and acting in dramatic activities offered to them for reflection on their social interaction in mathematics. The research took place in a fifth grade of a typical public primary school. Three different case studies of pairs of students as they are engaged in dramatic activities during their metadiscursive reflection on their interaction in mathematics are presented. The drama seems to be a fruitful environment for the development of students' reflection on their collaboration in mathematics, as it allows them to reflect on issues concerning social and emotional aspects of their collaboration and to become aware of its evolution.