Students’ reasoned dialogs during problem solving in a Norwegian thinking classroom.

Abstract

This study explores students’ collective mathematical problem-solving processes. Grade-seven Norwegian students were observed during regular problem-solving sessions to discover how reasoned dialogs might develop in a thinking-classroom context. An analytical framework associated with sociocultural discourse analysis was used to identify utterances (dialog moves) that were essential in revealing a dynamic and continuous scaffolding process with symmetrical interaction between the stu dents, and where the vertical whiteboards supported students during the reasoned dialogs. The context of a thinking classroom created an environment suitable for highly interactive learning where students constructed and refined their ideas in col laboration with each other. The findings also point to the crucial role of the teacher as a facilitator of classroom dialogs to get students to dig deeper into the ideas of others.