Abstract:

Graphic humour was used as the basis for designing challenging mathematics tasks for students from the end of elementary school (grades 4-6) through higher education (grades 12+). These tasks, developed in the HUMAT - Humour in Mathematics Teaching project, invite students to write mathematically combining their native language with mathematical language. In this paper we show how students from different educational levels have the opportunity to develop their mathematical writing by using discursive writing and, in this way, thinking mathematically and solving mathematical problems. The humour-based tasks we present in the paper, and have tested with students from these levels, are evidence that they are well placed to be regularly used in mathematics lessons, developing mathematical knowledge while fostering transversal mathematical skills such as reasoning, communication and problem solving.

Keywords:

Mathematics, Learning, Graphic humour, Communication, Mathematical writing.