A framework for analyzing the collaborative construction of arguments and its interplay with agency

In this report, we offer a framework for analyzing the ways in which collaboration influences learners' building of mathematical arguments and thus promotes mathematical understanding. Building on a previous model used to analyze discursive practices of students engaged in mathematical problem solving, we introduce three types of collaboration and discuss their influence on the building of mathematical arguments and student agency. The framework is exemplified using data from a study of the development of mathematical reasoning in an urban sixth-grade informal after-school program.