We illustrate a method, which is modeled on "breaching experiments," for studying tacit norms that govern classroom interaction around particular mathematical content. Specifically, this study explores norms that govern teachers' expectations for the doing of word problems in school algebra. Teacher study groups discussed representations of…

This article presents a way of studying the rationality that mathematics teachers utilize in managing the teaching of theorems in high-school geometry. More generally, the study illustrates how to elicit the rationality that guides teachers in handling the demands of teaching practice. In particular, it illustrates how problematic classroom…