Teachers and researchers inquiring into mathematics teaching and learning : the case of linear functions

The teachers in this study are participants in the LCM1- (Learning Communities in Mathematics) project run at Agder University College. The project emphasises the development of communities of teachers and researchers focused on inquiry in mathematics and teaching. This paper deals with a well-planned lesson in an eleventh grade class in a Norwegian upper secondary school. We will present data that illustrate how the teachers intervened to reach certain goals that had been identified through the planning process. These interventions identified discourses, which showed that there was a discrepancy between how the teachers interpreted and used a certain word for a mathematical concept and how the students interpreted the same word. Our findings illuminate common challenges faced when trying to build a community of inquiry in the classroom.