Using teaching representations is one of the common means for preparing pre-service mathematics teachers (PSTs) to learn how to teach mathematics meaningfully. However, turning PSTs' attention to the mathematical objects that students engage with during the lesson is a challenging pursuit. This paper suggests using the Realization Tree Mediator…

The authors feel there is a need of a new and different kind of classroom conversation about free speech--one that not only considers the legal and aspirational dimensions but also weighs the practice and impact of speech in daily life. Two factors make this new conversation particularly urgent. First, the avalanche of social media communication,…

Internet users' comments in online spaces have attracted researchers' attention in recent years. Although this data is typically publicly available, its use requires careful consideration so as to not cause harm to the users, while complying with the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) of the online spaces. However, the Ts & Cs and researchers'…

What makes a productive mathematics discussion? Who does the talking? Whose ideas are taken up? Can a student question take the lesson in an unexpected but valuable direction? What does it mean to be responsive to students' mathematical thinking? These questions intrigued the authors as teachers, teacher educators, and researchers, and they…

Talk is a key component of teaching and learning and teacher talk is an important part of how a teacher teaches. This paper discusses principles and approaches for analysing teacher talk in classroom interaction in order to investigate its effectiveness. The paper presents four reasons for analysing teacher talk: the role of interaction in the…

A new methodology is proposed for qualitative discourse analysis (QDA) aimed at gaining enhanced insights into learning possibilities and indicators that arise during classroom group discussions. The constitution of this new methodology has two principle components: a discourse analysis approach that aims to identify the relationships between…

Learning on and through social media is becoming a cornerstone of lifelong learning, creating places not only for accessing information, but also for finding other self-motivated learners. Such is the case for Reddit, the online news sharing site that is also a forum for asking and answering questions. We studied learning practices found in 'Ask'…

Teaching children to inquire, discuss ideas, and defend thinking about a literary text is a key aim of the common core state standards (CCSS). This article describes how four third-grade, male struggling readers successfully co-constructed meaning during a discussion based reading intervention rooted in philosophical inquiry. Three elements that…

This paper introduces the Mathematics Dialogic Gatherings (MDG) as a successful way to encourage adults' learning of mathematics. We report on a group of adults who attended a MDG in an adult school placed in Barcelona. Participants in this group do not have an academic trajectory. They attend once a week a session in the adult school, where they…

This article reports a holistic approach to assessing online discussions. This holistic approach integrates three assessment methods: assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. Assessment of learning directly examines students' learning products to decide whether they have achieved the expected learning through…

In this forum piece, we respond to Karin Due's study of social dynamics in groups of students in physics class and gender issues that play out in this context. We discuss two threads that appear in Due's paper: one pertains to patterns of talk within groups and how these patterns open up possibilities for learning, the other pertains to…

This paper places classroom discourse and interaction right at the heart of the teaching and learning process. It is built on the argument that high quality talk between the teacher and student(s) provides a fertile ground for an active, highly collaborative and cognitively stimulating learning process leading to improved learning outcomes. High…

"The Most Reasonable Answer" is an innovative and comprehensive guide to engaging students in inquiry dialogue--a type of talk used in text-based classroom discussions. During inquiry dialogue, students collectively search for the most reasonable answers to big, controversial questions, and, as a result, enhance their argumentation…

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have been growing in popularity with educational researchers, instructors, and learners in online environments. Online discussions are as important in MOOCs as in other online courses. Online discussions that occur in MOOCs are influenced by additional factors resulting from their volatile and voluntary…

Teachers find it difficult to conduct political controversial conversations in the social science classroom and due to an increased use of social media in educational settings new challenges and possibilities are raised. The use of social media causes fundamental changes to the role of the learner who becomes a producer and consumer--a…