Impact of group interaction on the production of algebraic language in the mathematics class

© Sociedad Española de Investigación en Educción Matemática (SEIEM). The goal of this study is to analyse the impact of group interaction on the production of mathematical discourses in the classroom. Qualitative methods of constant comparison were applied to examine group discussions for the resolution of five generalization problems involving learners aged 15 and 16. Now I report part of the analysis for three transcribed segments of discussions in a lesson. The aim is to illustrate how the combination of certain forms of interaction has an influence on the use and progress of the algebraic language in particular, and of the learners’ mathematical discourse in general. The results highlight the mediator effect of social interaction in discourse changes regarding algebraic thinking related to generalization processes.