Proposes to base research on a metaphor of thinking-as-communicating. Mathematical discourse is made special by two main factors: (a) exceptional reliance on symbolic artifacts as communication-mediating tools; and (b) particular meta-rules that regulate this type of communication. There is a better chance of accounting for some of the phenomena…

This article elaborates a model for understanding pedagogy in online educational forums. The model identifies four key components. Intellectual engagement describes the foreground cognitive processes of collaborative learning. Communication processes operating in the background accumulate an ever richer store of shared understandings that enable…