In this study we applied a discursive perspective of learning (Sfard, 2008) to a sequence of 21 geometry mini-lessons taught in a fourth grade classroom. From this perspective, learning is defined as changes in mathematical discourse. We first characterize and then compare discourse from the beginning and the end of the mini-lesson sequence. We…

In primary-level German writing instruction, spelling discussions (German: "Rechtschreibgespräche") have become a well-established interactional method of teaching orthography, prompting the children to exchange their hypotheses about orthographic features of written words. Focusing on spellings of ambisyllabic consonants, this…

Teachers can reflect on and analyze their classroom discourse to inform their instructional practice. When teachers try to do so however, they often face analytic difficulties, which include the data set (e.g., data input, data transformation, and utterances by unknown speakers), coding (e.g., coding complexity, reliability, and efficiency),…

The linked concepts of "scaffolding" and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) were originally applied to the context of asymmetrical teaching and learning with a teacher or adult explicitly supporting a learner, usually a child, to achieve tasks beyond their ability when working alone. In this paper we investigate how these concepts…

This study analyzed personal and fictional narratives of culturally/ethnically diverse students with and without learning disabilities. The participants were 82 fourth to seventh graders from urban and suburban schools located in a Midwest metropolitan area. Narratives were elicited in the context of naturalistic conversation and analyzed using…

The purpose of this study was twofold. One purpose was to identify the locally negotiated literate practices that defined ways of communicating information and knowledge across the curriculum in a fourth/fifth grade classroom. Through an ethnographic and sociolinguistic set of analyses, this investigation illustrated how the teacher worked to…