Effects of teaching activity on the generation of mathematical learning opportunities

Abstract

This study aims to determine how teaching activity affects the generation of mathematical learning opportunities. We present a case study to characterize the types of teaching activity of two teachers when orchestrating whole-group discussions on a similarity problem, and to gauge the effect of each type of teaching on the generation of learning opportunities. Significant differences are shown in the way each teacher has prepared the whole-group discussion and the episodes are characterised in two dimensions: instrumental and discursive. A detailed analysis of the episodes, studying the actions that occur in them, gives us a chance to identify mathematical learning opportunities and establish a direct relationship between these and the way each teacher has prepared the whole-group discussion.