ABSTRACT
The cases in this chapter focus on conversations in mathematics classrooms about mathematical ideas. Each narrative is accompanied by a video recording and transcript of the whole-class discussions that are the raw data of the cases. The teachers from whose classrooms these cases come are all engaged in a kind of teaching in which they pose questions or problem situations for their students to investigate. After students have had sufficient time to investigate the problem, the teacher facilitates a discussion in which students present their results for their classmates’ consideration. In the three cases that follow, the question or problem posed led to a variety of ways in which different students made sense of the situation and tried to justify their views to others in the class. As you read these cases, consider the following questions. They have been framed to help you stand back from the particulars of a specific case and reflect on what you might learn from reading the case and how it might influence your own classroom practice.
