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ZDM

, Volume 50, Issue 6, pp 1077–1087 | Cite as

Exploring the central role of student authority relations in collaborative mathematics

  • Jennifer M. Langer-Osuna
Original Article
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Abstract

How students build mathematics knowledge together in classrooms is of central concern in research focused on the role of language in learning and doing mathematics. This paper explores how students compose mathematics knowledge together in relation to the social construction of influence. Drawing on the influence framework (Engle et al. in J Learn Sci 23(2):245–268, 2014), core interactional components are made salient: gaining access to the conversational floor and interactional space, being perceived as intellectually meritorious, and being positioned with social and intellectual authority. Of these, being positioned with social and intellectual authority is argued to be most important. This paper highlights both the centrality of authority and its discursive nature and connects these ideas to collaborative mathematics activity. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical generativity of focusing on the functions of language in mathematics classrooms, in addition to its forms, to better articulate discursive mechanisms at play during collaborative mathematics learning activities.

Keywords

Authority Influence Collaboration Language Identity 
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Copyright information

© FIZ Karlsruhe 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Stanford UniversityStanfordUSA

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