llustrating the

Mathematical approach

Solving a problem is not about going straight to the result. Before reaching the destination, one must travel a path! This path is often overlooked because it is personal, inner, invisible: searching, formulating hypotheses, trying, making mistakes, adjusting… and then explaining. A true quest, with its twists and turns!
The tales presented here give meaning to this journey. Like Little Poucet, we move forward step by step, keeping track of what we have done. Like the Three Little Pigs, we test several methods before shouting eureka. (Other examples will follow.)

These tales serve as support for putting images and words to what students experience when they are engaged in inquiry. They take the drama out of the experience (hesitation and starting over are part of the process) and humanize mathematics by connecting it to expressible emotions and shared narratives.

As in a tale, we progress step by step, we explore, we lose our way, we start again; little by little, through persistence, we find our path, we reach a new understanding — and the joy of discovery is there.