In this workshop, we present a model of problem that we call Research Situation for the Classroom (RSC). The aim of a RSC is to put students in a role close to a mathematical researcher in order to make them work on mathematical thinking/skills. A RSC has some characteristics : the problem is close to a research one, the statement is an easy understandable question, school knowledge are elementary, there is no end, a solved question postponed to new questions... The most important characteristic of a RSC is that students can manage their research by fixing themselves some variable of the problem. So, a RSC is completely different from a problem that students usually do in France. For short : there is no final answer, students can try to resolve their own questions : a RSC is a large open field where many sub-problems exist; the goal for the students is not to apply a technique: the goal is, as for a researcher, to search. These type of situations are particularly interesting to develop problem solving skills and mathematical thinking. They can also let students discover that mathematics are “alive” and “realistic”. This workshop will be split into two parts. First, we propose to put people in the situation of solving a RSC to make them discover practically what is it. After, we present the model of a RSC and some results of our experimentations.

In this workshop, we present a model of problem that we call Research Situation for the Classroom (RSC). The aim of a RSC is to put students in a role close to a mathematical researcher in order to make them work on mathematical thinking/skills. A RSC has some characteristics : the problem is close to a research one, the statement is an easy understandable question, school knowledge are elementary, there is no end, a solved question postponed to new questions... The most important characteristic of a RSC is that students can manage their research by fixing themselves some variable of the problem. So, a RSC is completely different from a problem that students usually do in France. For short : there is no final answer, students can try to resolve their own questions : a RSC is a large open field where many sub-problems exist; the goal for the students is not to apply a technique: the goal is, as for a researcher, to search. These type of situations are particularly interesting to develop problem solving skills and mathematical thinking. They can also let students discover that mathematics are “alive” and “realistic”. This workshop will be split into two parts. First, we propose to put people in the situation of solving a RSC to make them discover practically what is it. After, we present the model of a RSC and some results of our experimentations.