• School Mathematics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.193-214
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• 2016

Teachers' questioning plays an important role in mathematics teaching and learning by asking students to react or to participate in mathematical discourse. Previous studies on teachers' questioning have not focused on how to questioning to formulate an effective mathematical discourse which is contributed by students because studies mostly analyzed and categorized teachers' questions according to cognitive levels of questions without consideration of context. Therefore, this study explored characteristics of teachers' questioning to formulate an effective characteristics of teachers' questioning to formulate an effective mathematical discourse in mathematics classrooms. By reviewing and analyzing mathematics discourse and studies on teachers' questioning theoretically, we presented openness, sharedness, and productivity as characteristics of teachers' questioning. Through a middle school mathematics teacher's case, we examined three characteristics were necessary to formulate an effective mathematical discourse. Based on results from theoretical analysis and case analysis, we discussed that openness, sharedness, and productivity would be useful as a framework to analyze teachers' questioning.

• School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.571-591
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of mathematical discourse about the length in the class that learns the length of the curve defined by definite integral. For this purpose, this study examined the discourse about length by paying attention to the usage of the word 'length' in the class participants based on the communicative approach. As a result of the research, it was confirmed that the word 'length' is used in three usages - colloquial, operational, and structural usage - in the process of communicating with the discourse participants. Particularly, each participant did not recognize the difference even though they used different usage words, and this resulted in ineffective communication. This study emphasizes the fact that the difference in usage of words used by participants reduces the effectiveness of communication. However, if discourse participants pay attention to the differences of these usages and recognize that there are different discourses, this study suggests that meta - level learning can be possible by overcoming communication discontinuities and resolving conflicts.