How it is Possible to Make Real-World Mathematics More Visible: Some Results from Two Italian Projects

Abstract

The first project described in this contribution regards the primary school level and is articulated in some teaching experiments aimed at showing how an extensive use of suitable artifacts could prove to be useful instrument in creating a new tension between school mathematics and real world with its incorporated mathematics. The main purpose of the second project is to encourage high-school graduates entering Universities to apply for degrees in the “hard” sciences, including Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry