This paper addresses the need for empirical research on the processes by which students create algorithms. I analyse the collaborative work of three high-school students on a contextualised graph theory task, in which they created an algorithm for maximising the happiness score of a seating arrangement. The group found an optimal arrangement but…

There is increasing recognition that the underachievement of Maori, Pasifika, and other diverse students in New Zealand schools is in large part owing to systemic factors that disadvantage these students. Responding to the urgent need for significant change in our schools and classrooms, the developing mathematical inquiry communities model is a…

In the current reform of mathematics classrooms teachers are charged with the role of facilitating collaborative groups during problem-solving activity. The challenge is for teachers to engage students in making mathematical meaning during collaborative group discussions. In this paper we draw on the concept of adaptive expertise to report on…

Small group interactions can provide rich conceptual mathematical understandings. This paper reports on the mathematical talk of Maori and Pasifika students as they participated in small group activity. The findings illustrate that when the students were scaffolded to work collaboratively the talk shifted between focusing on mathematics…