Mathematics discourse in instruction : How it helps us think about research on mathematics teaching

Abstract

Mathematics Discourse in Instruction (MDI) is a framework developed to describe, interpret, and support development of mathematics teaching. Since its inception, it has been successfully used as a tool for research and professional development in South Africa, where it was developed, but it has been less used in other contexts. In this paper, we use shared data as a starting point to explore how the MDI framework can contribute to thinking about research on mathematics teaching. We elaborate on the conception of teaching underlying the framework, describe its elements and their rationale, and show how these can illuminate four core tasks of teaching mathematics.