Friendship Groups and Socially Constructed Mathematical Knowledge

Description/Abstract

This paper examines an aspect of collaborative group work arising from a study of peer talk in secondary school mathematics classrooms. The study focused on the extent to which ‘exploratory talk’, defined as the type of talk which indicates reasoning, occurs in these collaborative groups. One feature of this study, which became evident in transcripts of peer talk and in subsequent interviews with students, was the extent to which friendship groupings supported mathematical learning. Evidence from transcripts of peer talk which indicates this type of support is discussed.