ABSTRACT
Work with problem-solving is central at all levels of mathematics teaching. The assigned problem becomes the object of the mathematical activities, and the setting of the problem together with related actions performed by the teacher constitute the major method by which mathematics is expected to be conveyed to the learner. The notion of words as containers in which the teacher “conveys” meaning to pupils is misguided. To see this, we retrace our own steps and review how the meaning of words was acquired at the beginning of our problem-solving.
