Discourse, Mathematical Thinking, and Classroom Practice
Abstract Aspects of an on-going research and development project in elementary school mathematics that has as an overriding goal the development of a framework within which to coordinate sociological and psychological analyses of classroom life are discussed in this chapter. We must state at the out set that neither the theoretical nor the pragmatic aspects of our work were initially derived from neo-Vygotskian theory. Informed by an almost exclusively cognitive constructivist perspective, we initially intended to analyze individual children’s learning as they participated in classroom mathematical activity. Our interest in symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology developed in concert with our growing awareness of the insufficiency of this initial theoretical orientation. It subsequently became apparent that the way in which we were attempting to make sense of classroom life was, in many respects, compatible with certain of Vygotsky’s theoretical notions, particularly his work in what Minick (1987) has identified as the last of the three phases of his in tell actual development(i.e., 1933-1934). We use sample episodes repeatedly in the main body of this chapter to illustrate our current view of classroom life and to highlight similarities and differences with Vygotskian theory. First, however, we give a brief overview of the project.