Managing differences by focusing on communicationqualities: Pupils learning mathematics in pairs at a computer

摘要

The article presents a study of face-to-face verbal communication when pupils work withgeometry in pairs and share a stand-alone computer with Geoboard software. The worksessions of pairs of 9th grade pupils are video recorded, and a screen recorder is usedto capture their computer activity. The study focuses on identifying and characterizinggood communication practices that enhance mathematics learning through joint researchreflections between the pupils, the teacher, and the researcher. The major finding concernshow two of the pupils have diverging perspectives on how to communicate mathematics,yet they manage to have productive collaboration. The differences generate collaborativechallenges for the pupils and an opportunity to discuss how pupils' communication qualitiescan prove important in fruitfully managing such challenges.