Routine problems occupy a central place in mathematics education, yet their potential is often underestimated. The mathematical dwelling / inhabiting mathematics framework invites teachers and students to linger with such problems in order to “inhabit” the mathematics they evoke: exploring multiple interpretations, strategies, possible errors, and connections to other concepts and problems. The project aims to integrate moments of dwelling into everyday classroom practices and to document their effects on students’ mathematical development. A collaborative research project with elementary and secondary teachers will also contribute to the development of a Guide for Teachers and Pedagogical consultants.
This page brings together a range of resources and documents related to the project. Some links are not yet active. Please feel free to contact me if you would like access to a document or additional information.
- Presentations at the 2026 GDM conference (in French)
- Project abstract (from the SSHRC application)
Presentations at the 2026 GDM Conference
- Barabé, G. et Maheux, JF. (2026). Apprendre les mathématiques comme « devenir familier ». Présentations PPT et Texte dans les actes.
- Maheux, JF. et Barabé, G. (2026). Le slow math au quotidien? Présentations PPT et Texte dans les actes.
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Project abstract, from the SSHRC application
Routine problems are often dismissed, despite being a central part of students’ mathematical experiences. Our previous work (Barabé 2022) demonstrate that mundane tasks are sometimes grounds for rich mathematical activity: even straightforward exercises can open to deep exploration, invite multiple interpretations, and reveal conceptual subtleties. This led us to create the “mathematical dwelling” framework: a conceptualization of how teachers and students lingering with routine problems can support learning. Mathematical dwelling is about inhabiting the mathematics that is at play in and around even the simplest question (e.g. “Is 496 divisible by 4?”), allowing time to unpack various interpretations and strategies, helpful analogies and possible mistakes, known rules or algorithms, similar or connected problems (“what about 498?”) and so on.
The framework develops within our “doing|mathematics” theory (Maheux & Proulx, 2015) and recently developed notion of learning as “becoming familiar” (Maheux & Barabé, 2025). It also draws on our studies on the mathematically productive potential of students’ common errors (Mégrourèche, 2020), and alternative ways of engaging in mathematical thinking (Megrourèche & Maheux, 2021; Mégrourèche 2025). To harness the potential of a routine problem, we identify 6 axes along which articulate mathematical dwelling in the classroom (e.g.: Attentiveness-Expansion, or Familiarity-Novelty).
Considering how adopting new practices is challenging for most teachers (e.g., Davis 2003), our first goal is to make actionable the mathematical dwelling framework by recognising dwelling opportunities in ordinary teaching practices, and develop guidelines for the ecologically-congruent integration of dwelling moments within existing teaching practices around routine problems. Second, we want to document how the inclusion of mathematically dwelling moments impact students’ mathematical development.
To achieve this, we will engage in collaborative research (Bednarz 2004) with 4 teachers (2 primary, 2 secondary) over a period of 2 years of classroom observations and debriefing sessions. In the first we will look for dwelling opportunities in the teachers’ practices around routine problems. The objective is to both identify ways to integrate mathematical dwelling into their practices, and allow teachers to familiarize with the framework. The second year is dedicated to implementing mathematical dwelling activities every two weeks with the same teachers and observing their effects on students over the school year. Data collection will triangulate teachers’ reflections, classroom observations, and students’ productions.
To rigorously assess the impact of Mathematical dwelling, we will document participation patterns and, following the Quebec Ministry of Education’s Framework for interventions in mathematics (MEES 2019), shifts in students’ mathematical flexibility, conceptual understanding, and fluency. A schoolboard already requested to join the project. Collaborative research hinges on meshing researchers’ and teachers’ perspectives to co-create models and resources that resonate with both the research and the classroom, thus simultaneously contributing to knowledge and practice. Integrating scholars and practitioners expertise, this project will
- refine and validate the mathematical dwelling framework,
- identify practices and classroom conditions that support mathematical dwelling in routine problems,
- collect evidence on how a pedagogy of dwelling can improve students abilities, and
- produce illustrative examples and teaching materials (including an online Mathematical Dwelling Teacher’s Guide“) for wider implementation of the approach.
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