Early mathematics - teacher communication supporting the pupil's agency

Abstract

There is a substantial body of knowledge on the importance of language for learning mathematics and the importance of attending to the pupils’ strategies in the meaning-making process. In this Norwegian case study, I investigate a skilled teacher’s communication while scaffolding 18 pupils’ work in Year 2–4 while working in small groups with developing and formulating their strategies without any substantial teacher interventions. To understand what characterises the teacher’s communication I analyse audiotapes from three lessons using a framework developed for detailed studies of mathematical discourses on turn-to-turn basis. The findings showing the teacher’s scaffolding of processes needed to clarify the pupils’ own thinking, are elucidated through the words of the teacher from an interview and discussed in the light of recent research on dialogic teaching and the theory of didactical situations in mathematics.