Kaleidoscope on the increase in equality problems in Quebec textbooks
In the secondary-level (cycle 1) mathematics textbooks of Quebec, the increase in problems involving modelling that can translate into equations with an unknown on both sides of the equal sign appears to be driven by a promotion of analytical reasoning, in conjunction with a desire to convince students to use literal language. This article presents the results of a comparative study of these problems, referred to here as “equalization,” as reviewed in textbooks stemming from the 1992 and 2003 reforms. Building on the work of Marchand and Bednarz (1999), the article discusses classes of problems, the frameworks involved as well as representations and degrees of explicitation associated with this equalization.