Primary school students' arguments regarding external data representations: Logical, numerical, and geometric components

Abstract

Arguing and representing are abilities promoted in the school curricula of many countries. This paper presents the arguments used by six students from grades one to four regarding external representations they created. The structure of the arguments is analyzed with respect to some of the components presented in these representations using Toulmin's simple model, interpreting the arguments, and integrating the representation created with the argumentation. Verbal and gestural argumentative elements appear to be influenced by the students' oral expression abilities and numerical and geometrical knowledge. The arguments about the logical component, the variable, and about the numerical component, the frequency, were verbalized by the students, while the linear components, the linear basis and the graphical linearity, were argued for using spoken language, gestures, and metaphors.