Mortino and the Blue Pearl Heart: a structured-narrative journey through pupils’ attitude in mathematics

This paper is situated within the field of research on how mathematics activitiesembedded in a storytelling setting may influence attitude towards mathematics, in primaryschool children. It is widely recognized in the literature that the affective dimension has asignificant role in mathematical learning, especially when the subject-related prejudices mayinduce pupils’ anxiety. From early schooling, a mnemonic, rigid vision of mathematics risksestablishing a didactical contract detached from a critical and relational approach to the dis-cipline. This paper proposes the analysis of an experiment based on an original story, thatintegrates a triadic narrative arc, story-based problems and gamification dynamics, in orderto promote an encouraging and supportive learning environment in a 2nd grade classroom.Grounded in the three-dimensional model of attitude, we investigate how storytelling andgamification might facilitate a positive perception of mathematics for pupils.