Identifying authority structures in mathematics classroom discourse: a case of a teacher’s early experience in a new context

Authors

  • David Wagner University of New Brunswick
  • Beth Herbel-Eisenmann Michigan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33044/revem.39919

Keywords:

Mathematics teacher, Mathematics classroom, Conceptual frame, Language practice, Authority structure

Abstract

We explore a conceptual frame for analyzing mathematics classroom discourse to understand the way authority is at work. This case study of a teacher moving from a school where he is known to a new setting offers us the opportunity to explore the use of the conceptual frame as a tool for understanding how language practice and authority relate in a mathematics classroom. This case study illuminates the challenges of establishing disciplinary authority in a new context while also developing the students’ sense of authority within the discipline. To analyze the communication in the teacher’s grade 12 class in the first school and grade 9 class early in the year at the new school, we use the four categories of positioning drawn from our earlier analysis of pervasive language patterns in mathematics classrooms—personal authority, discourse as authority, discursive inevitability, and personal latitude.

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Published

2022-12-28

Issue

Section

Trabajos de Investigación en Educación Matemática

How to Cite

[1]
Wagner, D. and Herbel-Eisenmann, B. 2022. Identifying authority structures in mathematics classroom discourse: a case of a teacher’s early experience in a new context. Revista de Educación Matemática. 37, 3 (Dec. 2022), 6–32. DOI:https://doi.org/10.33044/revem.39919.