Development Of 10-Year-Olds’ Mathematical Modelling

This paper addresses the developments of a class of fifth-grade children as they worked modelling problems during the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study. In contrast to usual classroom problems where students find a brief answer to a particular question, modelling activities involve students in authentic case studies that require them to create a system of relationships that is generalisable and re-usable. The present study shows how 10-year-olds, who had not experienced modelling before, used their existing informal mathematical knowledge to generate new ideas and relationships, and how these developments were fuelled by significant social interactions within small group settings