Introduces a special issue on the ways in which symbolic tools enable, mediate, and shape mathematical thinking while being themselves a product of these processes. (Author/MM)

Describes the provenance of the data used in this issue. Includes design of the instructional sequence, instructional activities, classroom structure, and classroom episodes. (Author/MM)

Analyzes two classroom episodes using a classroom mathematical practice together with students' diverse ways of contributing to its continual regeneration as the unit of analysis. Asserts that a classroom mathematical practice is composed of three interrelated types of norms: a normative purpose, normative standards of argumentation, and normative…

Investigates not only the influence but also the confluence of students' and teacher's understandings of the quality of whole class discussions. Focuses on the communication between students and the teacher in the classroom. Considers the role of tools in both supporting and constraining communication in the classroom. (Author/MM)

Explores how inscriptions are used to create argumentative positions in two classroom episodes. Finds that the classroom activities resembled those of scientific communities in several ways: (1) Real-world, dilemma-driven problems were presented; (2) students evaluated the inscriptions offered in terms of their adequacy for advancing particular…

Presents a cultural-developmental framework for the analysis of children's mathematics in collective practices and illustrates the heuristic value of the framework through the analysis of videotaped episodes drawn from a middle-school classroom. Discusses the promise and limitations of the framework as a method for furthering understanding of the…

Considers individual students' progress as they use tools, discuss data distributions, and interact with teachers and their peers. Suggests that data display tools provide a partial context for discussions but do not constrain the students' interpretations or the way they reason about the data. (Author/MM)

Analyzes two classroom episodes guided by the assumption that thinking can be conceptualized as an activity of communication and learning can be regarded as modifying and extending one's discursive ways. Aims to uncover the ways in which the discursive uses of such new symbolic tools were interactively constructed by the students. Concludes that…