Imaginary Dialogues in Mathematics Education

Abstract

An imaginary dialogue is a form of mathematical writing where a single student composes a written dialogue between two protagonists who discuss a mathematical task or question (Wille 2008). The aim of this article is to discuss from a theoretical perspective the potential and limitations of the use of imaginary dialogues in mathematics education in order to understand students’ mathematical thinking processes. Grade 5 students’ writing on fractions will serve to exemplify the theoretical line of argumentation.