A Framework for Investigating Qualities of Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge in Mathematics—An Inferentialist Perspective

Abstract

This study introduces inferentialism and, particularly, the Game of Giving and Asking for Reasons (GoGAR), as a new theoretical perspective for investigating qualities of procedural and conceptual knowledge in mathematics. The study develops a framework in which procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge are connected to limited and rich qualities of GoGARs. General characteristics of limited GoGARs are their atomistic, implicit, and noninferential nature, as opposed to rich GoGARs, which are holistic, explicit, and inferential. The mathematical discussions of a Grade 6 class serve the case to show how the framework of procedural and conceptual GoGARs can be used to give an account of qualitative differences in procedural and conceptual knowledge in the teaching of mathematics.