When a Student Challenges the Professor in an Undergraduate Mathematics Course: An Analysis of Positioning

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Abstract

Students’ experiences in undergraduate mathematics courses are often negative, yet few studies have focused on what happens inside the classroom. This study examined classroom interactions in an upper-level undergraduate mathematics course in order to investigate how the focal student was positioned in relation to mathematics. One particular moment of mathematical disagreement between the professor and a student was examined closely using discourse analytic tools and the framework of positioning theory. The focal student was able to position himself and be positioned by the professor as a co-constructor of mathematics, rather than as a passive receiver of mathematics, by situating their discourse in storylines about mathematics as a logical system and about the classroom as a shared space of mathematical work.

Author

• Elizabeth Fleming, University of Maryland - College Park