ZDM Mathematics Education (2008) 40:247–264

DOI 10.1007/s11858-008-0079-y

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Toward networking three theoretical approaches:

the case of social interactions
Ivy Kidron Æ Agnès Lenfant Æ
Angelika Bikner-Ahsbahs Æ Michèle Artigue Æ
Tommy Dreyfus

Accepted: 7 February 2008 / Published online: 4 March 2008

FIZ Karlsruhe 2008

Abstract We rely on discussions initiated at CERME4 1 Introduction

and continued at CERME5 to compare, contrast and
combine in a coherent way different theoretical frame- Learning processes are at the center of interest of mathe-
works currently used in mathematics education, with the matics education as a scientific endeavor. They are very
eventual aim of networking between theoretical approa- complex, taking place in a multi-faceted environment, with
ches. Specifically, we chose for this purpose the theory of many aspects interacting and influencing the process. The
didactic situations (TDS), the nested epistemic actions different theoretical frameworks used today in the field of
(RBC+C) model for abstraction in context (AiC), and the mathematics education offer different ways for approach-
theoretical approach of interest-dense situations (IDS). As ing learning processes and for taking into account
an example, we focus on how each of these frameworks is environmental conditions and influences on these pro-
taking into account social interactions in learning pro- cesses. No single framework is able to provide a full
cesses. We identified not only connections and contrasts understanding of the complex phenomena at stake, but
between the frameworks but also additional insights, which combining their respective insights in an efficient way is
each of these frameworks can provide to each of the others. far from trivial. Each theoretical frame obeys its own logic
We also present some methodological reflections about the and has its own coherence. It looks at the educational
process of networking different theoretical approaches. reality through a specific lens, without the ambition of
developing a holistic view, a sine qua non condition for
efficiency and operationality. Trying to combine theoreti-
cal perspectives thus presents the researcher with
I. Kidron (&) unavoidable problems of coherence and compatibility. It is
Department of Applied Mathematics, Jerusalem College
a crucial question for mathematics education, how to cope
of Technology, Jerusalem, Israel
e-mail: [email protected] with these problems of coherence and compatibility in
order for the diversity of existing approaches to support our
A. Lenfant understanding of teaching and learning processes, and in
Equipe AEP, IUFM, Université de Reims and Equipe DIDIREM,
order for research to give more effective assistance to the
Université Paris-Diderot Paris 7, Paris, France
teachers who have to handle their complexity.
A. Bikner-Ahsbahs With the aim of making progress toward answering the
Fachbereich Mathematik/Informatik, Universität Bremen, question, how to cope with these problems of coherence
Bremen, Germany
and compatibility, it is certainly of interest to compare and
M. Artigue contrast different approaches in order to identify possible
Equipe DIDIREM, Université Paris-Diderot Paris 7, connections between theoretical approaches, develop
Paris, France complementary or dialectical theoretical views, investigate
when and why theoretical approaches contradict each other
T. Dreyfus
Department of Science Education, Tel Aviv University, and, in the long run, establish a network of theoretical
Tel Aviv, Israel approaches (Bikner-Ahsbahs and Prediger, 2006).

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248 I. Kidron et al.

The idea to compare, contrast and combine different central role given in this theory to the situation, seen as a
theoretical frameworks was presented (see for example, system involving three different components in interaction:
Artigue et al. 2006b; Kidron, 2006) and discussed in the students, a teacher and some piece of mathematical
working group on theoretical perspectives in mathematics knowledge.1 According to the TDS, students’ learning
education at the fourth Congress of the European Society results from interactions taking place within such systems
for Research in Mathematics Education in 2005 (Artigue and is highly dependent on the characteristics of these. The
et al. 2006a). The analysis presented in this paper is theory aims at understanding these dependences and also at
influenced by the discussion and views expressed in that determining conditions for their optimal functioning. In the
working group and constitutes a theoretical attempt at TDS, mathematical knowledge is supposed to emerge first
comparison of three theoretical frameworks: the theory of as means for action through models that can remain
didactic situations (TDS) (Brousseau, 1997), the nested implicit, but it cannot develop without the building of an
epistemic actions (RBC+C) model for abstraction in con- appropriate language (here the term language has to be
text (AiC) (Schwarz et al. 2008), and the theory of interest- understood in a very wide sense), and has then to become
dense situations (Bikner-Ahsbahs, 2003). The aim of the part of a fully coherent body of knowledge. These different
present paper is to compare, combine and contrast these steps rely on three different dialectics, the dialectics of
three theoretical approaches. We provide a concrete action, formulation and validation (Brousseau, 1997),
example in which we observe how networking permits to which require different types of situations. Another
deepen the analysis of a given situation by a combined use important point is that, according to the TDS, significant
of the three different theoretical frameworks. As an mathematical learning cannot be achieved if the students’
example to talk about networking we decide to exhibit, work is too much dependent on the teacher. This basic
compare and contrast how social interactions, a phenom- assumption is embedded in the TDS through the notions of
enon which is more and more considered as an essential adidactical situation and milieu.2 In a-didactical situations
dimension of mathematics learning processes, are taken (an ideal type) students are expected to be able to test,
into account by these different theoretical frameworks. reject, progressively adapt and refine their models and
In the next section, the three theoretical approaches are solutions thanks to the potential offered by the milieu of the
presented. For each framework, we discuss the role of situation in terms of action and feedback, without relying
social interactions. The following section is the main sec- on the teacher’s guidance, and without trying to guess the
tion of the paper. In it, commonalities and contrasts are teacher’s expectations.
noted, and it is analysed what each framework may have to In essence, the central object of the theory, the situation,
offer to the others, with respect to the role of social incorporates the idea of social interaction. To each of the
interaction. In the section that follows we illustrate this dialectics mentioned above is associated a particular type
analysis with a concrete example. Finally, the concluding of game, and the games associated to the dialectics of
section presents a wider perspective on the potential ben- formulation and validation cannot be conceived as games
efits and difficulties of networking between theoretical played by an individual learner. These are necessarily more
approaches, and some methodological reflections about the collective games involving at least groups of learners, if
process of networking. not the whole class. The notion of situation of communi-
cation often associated with the dialectic of formulation,
for instance, attests to this characteristic. In such situations,
2 Social interaction in three frameworks students are asked to send messages to other students
allowing them to perform a given task, for instance
2.1 Social interaction in the theory of didactic
situations 1
In this part, the term ‘‘situation’’ has to be understood with the
meaning it is given in the TDS, that is to say as explained in this
In order to understand the way social interactions are dealt sentence as a system involving three different components in
with by the theory of didactic situations (TDS; see War- interaction. In the TDS, different distinctions have been progressively
made, and among these the distinction between a-didactic situations
field, 2006, for an excellent entry level description), it is
where interaction between students and knowledge can function
necessary to return to the origins of this theory and to the without teacher intervention, and didactic situations where teacher
essential role that design has played in its development. As intervention plays an essential role in this interaction.
2
recalled by Perrin-Glorian in her analysis of the historical The a-didactic milieu was initially defined by Brousseau as the
development of the theory (Perrin-Glorian, 1992), TDS’s system with which the student interacts in the adidactic game. It
generally includes material and symbolic artefacts, and other students.
first aim was to lay the theoretical foundations for what
In Warfield (2006), the milieu is more globally defined as ‘‘all the
Brousseau called at the time (in the late 1960s) an exper- pertinent features of the students’ surroundings’’ regarding his (her)
imental epistemology. This contributes to explain the interaction with mathematical knowledge.

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Toward networking three theoretical approaches: the case of social interactions 249

reproducing a geometrical figure, and the pair wins if the organization of these social interactions can support adi-
task is performed successfully, that is to say if the linguistic dactic adaptations through the creation of a milieu offering
choices of the producer of the message support an effective rich enough potential for action and retroaction. But con-
mathematical communication. In situations of validation, ditions for a productive adidactical functioning are not so
the idea of mathematical truth emerges as a social construct easily satisfied in standard contexts, and in classrooms,
through debates about mathematical assertions. even experimental classrooms, most often, adidactic and
In addition, even with respect to the dialectic of action, didactic episodes tightly intertwine. Even if the same
an analysis of some paradigmatic situations such as the conceptual tools can be fruitfully used, as attested for
‘‘Race to 20’’ or the ‘‘Enlargement of the puzzle’’ (War- instance by the special issue recently published by Edu-
field, 2006, pp. 19–21, 55–57) shows that some cational Studies in Mathematics (Laborde and Perrin-
organization of social interaction is constitutive of the Glorian, 2005) or by our own research work (Artigue et al.
design. For instance, in the Race to 20, the action phase in 2006b), the analysis becomes more complex. The extensive
the original scenario is based on a succession of plays use of the TDS for analyzing and understanding the func-
involving pairs of students. For enlarging the puzzle, stu- tioning of ordinary classroom situations in the last 15 years
dents work in groups; first, each student in a group is in has thus led to specific theoretical developments concern-
charge of the enlargement of a specific piece of the puzzle, ing the notions of didactic contract and milieu (Bloch,
and then they have to put all these pieces together to build 2002; Brousseau, 1997; Margolinas, 2004), and the char-
the enlarged puzzle; usually, they discover that this does acterization of practices developed by teachers in order to
not work and, discussing the strategies they have used, they conciliate ordinary classroom constraints and institutional
have to understand why. Social interactions thus play an expectations in terms of mathematical responsibilities to be
essential role in the adidactic functioning of situations, that given to the students. This is for instance the case with the
is to say in making a given piece of mathematical knowl- Interactive synthesis discussion3 practice (Hersant and
edge appear as the means of producing winning strategies Perrin-Glorian, 2005).
through the interactions of the students with a certain Beyond these evolutions of the TDS, it is worth noticing
milieu. As stressed by Warfield (2006), the adidactic milieu that the increasing attention paid to ordinary classrooms
includes material and symbolic artefacts, but also other has also lead to the development of hybrid constructions4
students. combining concepts from the TDS and from the theory of
Another point is that, in the TDS, the conceptualization didactical transposition due to Chevallard (1985) or from
of social interactions is not limited to interactions between its extension in terms of anthropological theory of didactics
students but also includes the teacher. Very early, this has (ATD; Chevallard, 1992, 2002), familiar to most users of
been embedded in the theory through different notions. The the TDS. Regarding the analysis of social interactions, a
main one is certainly that of didactic contract, understood good example of such constructions is provided by Sensevy
as the system of reciprocal expectations (both explicit and et al. (2005) who combine the use of the TDS and of the
implicit) between the teacher and the students as regards notions of mesogenesis and topogenesis coming from the
mathematical knowledge. The notions of devolution and theory of didactical transposition. As they recall in the
institutionalization, central in the TDS, denote the pro- article just mentioned, mesogenesis ‘‘describes the process
cesses organizing the distribution of mathematical roles by which the teacher organizes a milieu with which the
in situations. An adidactic situation, indeed, can only exist students are intended to interact in order to learn’’, while
if students forget for a while that the mathematical task topogenesis ‘‘describes the process of division of the
posed to them has been prepared by the teacher with a activity between the teacher and the students, according to
specific didactic goal, and if they accept the responsibility their potentialities’’. They show how these notions can be
of solving the task with their mathematical means and used together with those of adidactic situation and didactic
knowledge. According to the TDS, this delegation of contract in order to understand teacher-student interactions
mathematical responsibility to the students requires a spe-
cific action from the teacher called devolution. Conversely, 3
The Interactive synthesis discussion is an intermediate practice
the teacher has the responsibility to link the knowledge
consisting of problem solving sessions where students work in small
built by the students in adidactic situations with the groups followed by whole class discussions. In these discussions,
intended institutional knowledge and to decontextualize it. specific techniques are used by the teacher for ensuring the
This process is called institutionalization. progression of knowledge beyond what has been produced by
students in the adidactic phase of group work, while giving them,
Social interactions are thus a central focus in the TDS,
collectively, some mathematical responsibility.
both interactions between students and student–teacher 4
Note that these hybrid constructions can be interpreted as the result
interactions. In engineering designs built according to the of networking between TDS and ATD, networking being in that case
theory, particular attention is paid to the ways the facilitated by the cultural proximity of these theories.

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250 I. Kidron et al.

and the ways these are affected by the mathematical an action comprising the combination of recognized
knowledge at stake. Asking two different teachers to carry knowledge elements, in order to achieve a localized goal,
out Race to 20 lessons but giving them complete freedom such as the actualization of a strategy, or a justification, or
in the organization of these lessons, the authors create an the solution of a problem. Building-with subsumes recog-
intermediate object between a lesson design piloted by the nizing previous knowledge constructs. Constructing is
TDS and an ordinary classroom lesson, especially appro- composed of recognizing and building-with actions relat-
priate for such a study. ing to previous constructs; not infrequently, constructing
These combinations between the TDS and the ATD includes lower-level constructing actions. In other words,
insert the analysis of social interactions proper to the TDS recognizing is nested in building-with; building-with, rec-
into a larger perspective. The basic object of the ATD is ognizing, and possibly lower-level constructing actions are
indeed the notion of institution, and the hierarchy of levels nested in constructing.
of determination introduced more recently into the theory Since constructing refers to the first instance of a lear-
tends to relate the understanding of what happens locally in ner’s using or becoming aware of a construct, one may
a classroom about a specific mathematical topic to char- assume this construct to still be rather fragile for the lear-
acteristics and constraints situated at the more global levels ner. The third stage then consists of the progressive
of the educational system, the society, the culture and even Consolidation (whence RBC+C) of knowledge constructs
the civilization. by means of recognizing, and building-with them during
sequences of activities, which may include problem-solv-
2.2 The AiC approach: social interaction as a ing activities, reflection, as well as further constructing
component of context actions. Research on consolidation shows students’
increasing self-confidence and flexibility in recognizing
The dynamically nested epistemic actions model of and building-with the construct, as well as increased
abstraction in context proposed by Hershkowitz et al. awareness, and linguistic precision referring to it.
(2001) provides researchers with a tool for the analysis of The RBC+C model is empirically based. It has been
processes of abstraction, where abstraction is defined as developed and validated in a sequence of research studies
vertical (in the sense of Treffers and Goffree, 1985) reor- showing great variety in terms of mathematical contents,
ganization of knowledge. A main aim of the model is to get ages of students, and social contexts in which learning took
insight at the micro-level into processes of learning by place. For more detail, we refer the reader to the review by
means of progressive abstraction, over of several lessons, Schwarz et al. (2008) and to the relevant research literature
while taking into account the contexts in which these mentioned there.
processes occur, such as classrooms, tasks given to the In the AiC approach, contextual aspects are considered
students, and available technology. to be determining and integral factors of the learning pro-
According to the model, the genesis of an abstraction cess. Context is regarded in a wide sense, comprising
passes through three stages. The first stage consists of the historical, physical and social context. Historical context
emergence of a need for a new construct; the need may includes students’ prior learning history, physical context
arise out of the design of learning, out of the student’s includes artefacts such as computers and software, and
interest in the topic or problem under consideration, or out social context refers to the opportunities, kind and fre-
of combinations of these; the student may be aware or not quency of interaction with peers, teachers and others.
of the need, but without need, no process abstraction will Dreyfus et al. (2001) studied processes of abstraction
be initiated. and social interactions in parallel, and in conjunction. Pairs
The second stage constitutes the core of the model and of students were led to discover a surprising numerical
of the process of abstraction, namely the emergence of a pattern and then asked to justify it. The students were thus
new construct. The associated process of knowledge con- collaborating on a task with potential for abstraction; more
struction is expressed in the model by means of three specifically, the intended constructs were (a) conceiving
observable and identifiable epistemic actions, Recognizing, algebra as a tool for justification and, nested within (a), (b)
Building-with, and Constructing (whence RBC). The model an algebraic technique.
suggests constructing as the central process of mathemat- The researchers independently undertook a cognitive
ical abstraction. Constructing refers to the first use of a new and a social analysis of the interview protocols, with
knowledge element and is largely based on vertical re- the aim of comparing them. The cognitive analysis used
organizing of existing knowledge constructs in order to the RBC epistemic actions, and allowed to generate dia-
create a new one. Recognizing takes place when the learner grams showing episodes of the constructing processes.
recognizes that a specific knowledge construct is relevant The social interaction analysis used common categories
to the problem she or he is dealing with. Building-with is such as explanation, query, and agreement, as well as

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Toward networking three theoretical approaches: the case of social interactions 251

diagrammatic reference of each utterance to previous • In story 2, the two students co-constructed in interac-
utterances. It allowed generating diagrams showing blocks tion, and the knowledge was shared by both of them. A
of interaction. A main result of the research was that the third student, objecting to her colleagues’ shared
cognitive and social diagrams show essentially the same construct (argumentative), constructed a unique strat-
blocks. egy to solve the same problem.
The other main result was the identification of patterns • In story 3, the shared knowledge of three other students
of interaction likely to support abstraction: was constructed in a process of three cycles, from a
shared awareness of the need for a construct (coher-
• Coherence is a characteristic of interaction that strongly
ence), via denial of the correct construct
favors abstraction; similarly, lack of coherence inhibits
(argumentative), to constructing the shared construct
abstraction. Coherence is taken in the sense of sharing a
by all three students as an effect of the teacher’s
common motive for an activity; in our case, the motive
demonstration.
was to arrive at the (algebraic) justification;
• Symmetric argumentative interactions are likely to lead In a parallel line of research the role of teacher–student
to construction of knowledge; interactions in the construction of knowledge is being
• In asymmetric interaction, with one student leading the investigated through the lens of AiC (Schwarz et al. 2006).
other, combining guidance with (self)-explanation is In summary, the cognitive development of peers learning
particularly fruitful for abstraction. together in groups and classrooms is closely linked to the
interaction among peers and with the teacher; processes of
In more recent work, Hershkowitz et al. (2007; see also
constructing knowledge and patterns of social interaction
Hershkowitz et al. 2006), investigated ways in which the
strongly influence each other and analyzing them in
common basis of knowledge of a group of students
parallel or as a single process serves to specify, detail
emerges from the individual students’ constructing of
and explain processes of knowledge construction.
knowledge through interaction, and as such enables the
group to continue to construct further knowledge. The
2.3 Social interactions in interest-dense situations
epistemic actions were observed within a larger continuum
of activities to study the consolidating processes of the
In the project ‘‘Interest in mathematics between subject and
abstracted construct. Cognitive and interactive processes of
situation’’ (Bikner-Ahsbahs, 2003, 2005), social interac-
constructing knowledge were investigated as a single
tions are not regarded as part of the learning environment
process. This provided insight and understanding of the
but as basis, which constitutes learning mathematics itself.
ways by which knowledge is abstracted by a group.
In this approach learning is assumed to be a social event in
Methodologically, the data were considered as ‘‘stories’’
which mathematical knowledge is created through social
taken from the activities of two groups of three students
interactions as part of the interaction space, and the par-
each, from classrooms in different schools, on problems
ticipants align their behavior with the behavior of the other
from an elementary probability unit. These stories use the
participants. A main assumption is that a thing in the world
epistemic actions R, B and C to exemplify flows that
is closely related to a person’s interpretations about this
describe how shared knowledge was constructed out of the
thing. That means: people behave towards a thing
individual knowledge. The study showed that the shared
according to their meanings about it; meanings are created
knowledge of the group is characterised by its diversity,
through interpretations within social interactions with other
each partner expressing her own way of constructing a
persons and can be changed during processes of negotiation
piece of knowledge. Yet all three-group members may
(Blumer, see Wagner, 1999, p. 32). Analyzing scientifically
benefit from this multifaceted shared knowledge in their
in this sense means reconstructing the social processes by
common work, when going on to new constructs and/or
re-interpreting the interpretations according to the research
consolidating constructs in follow-up and assessment
question.
activities. As in the earlier study, different patterns of
In the project mentioned above, so-called Interest-Dense
interactive constructing were identified:
Situations (IDS) were investigated in the classroom dis-
• In story 1, one student acted as the source for the course of a sixth grade class with the teacher during half a
construct and, in a very intensive series of questions year. Its result is a theoretical brick regarded as a contri-
and requests for clarification, supported the construct- bution to the development of an interest theory, which is
ing process of a second student (asymmetric, guidance). able to describe and explain the development of interest in
In a further interactive phase, both these students mathematics. One source of interest development is the
supported the third, and thus the three students in the experience of interest activities in mathematics classes.
ensemble shared the constructed knowledge. Interest-dense situations are situations in mathematics

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252 I. Kidron et al.

classes in which students experience how interest-based expectation independent. In these cases, the social inter-
activities are shaped by their classmates and themselves. action is oriented towards the mathematical content and not
These situations provide opportunities to act in an interest- towards reproducing the teacher’s expectations.
based manner. Hence, interest-dense situations are situa- The interaction structure, which is shaped this way is
tions which foster learning mathematics with interest. They very fragile. If suddenly the teacher behaves in an expec-
consist of an epistemic process, begin with a mathematical tation-controlled way, a conflict can arise because the
problem or question and are closed as far as the mathe- students resist the teacher’s expectations. In this case,
matical theme is concerned. They are defined by three either the public conflict disturbs the epistemic process, or
features: Within an interest-dense situation students get the teacher changes his behavior. The interaction process
more and more intensively involved in the mathematical can go on if the teacher’s and students’ behaviors are not
activity (involvement), they progressively construct further deeply related to each other. In this case each takes key-
reaching mathematical meanings (dynamic of the epistemic words from the other’s utterances as starting-points; for
process) and the activity leads them to highly regard the instance, the teacher tries to offer help by posing questions
mathematics at hand (mathematical valence). The first task although the student does not need any; the student might
was to identify interest-dense situations within all class pretend to accept help by saying ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘alright’’ but
discussions of 89 lessons. This was far from easy. A lot of continues along his/her own ideas.
lessons were observed which showed only one or two of If, on the other hand, expectation dependent student
the features above but only 18 lessons contained interest- behavior meets situation controlled teacher behavior, stu-
dense episodes; all of these were far away (in time) from dents filter the teacher’s utterances in order to find out what
tests. the teacher wants them to say, and the teacher takes the
The aim of the project was to reconstruct the conditions, students’ utterances as an expression of their thinking
which foster or hinder the emergence of interest-dense process. Interactions of this kind look aimless; they do not
situations. The basic view was provided by the perspective have a common basis of orientation.
of social interactions; building upon these, a profound In most of the non interest-dense situations we find a
analysis from the perspective of the epistemic processes very stable interaction structure in which the teacher
and an analysis from the perspective of constructing arranges his behavior according to his content specific
mathematical values were carried out. Two methodical expectations, gives hints and poses constraining questions
principles were used: reconstruction of the learning process (expectation controlled) and the students try to use these
while progressively comparing the social interactions, the hints to reproduce what the teacher wants to hear (expec-
epistemic process and the value construction within one tation dependent). These interaction processes look like
case, and comparison of the learning processes among the guessing games, which do not permit to concentrate on
cases. Comparison within and among the processes led to deepening the understanding of the mathematical content.
an ideal-type description of the genesis of interest-dense They are easy to manage and this might explain why they
situations. Nine of the interest-dense situations occurred ad occur often and proceed routinely. All the participants
hoc due to a sudden utterance or question of one student. know that the problem is solved when the teacher’s
The other nine were socially generated so that processes of expectations are reproduced. This could be an explanation
genesis could be reconstructed by their analyses. During of the stability of such interaction structures.
interest-dense situations the teacher does not behave If the teacher abstains from his/her expectations and this
according to his own content-specific expectations towards meets expectation independent student behavior a fragile
the solution of the problem: he does not behave in an interaction structure is shaped. This social structure fosters
expectation controlled but in a situation controlled way. the dynamic of the epistemic process and is connected with
This means the teacher focuses on the students’ utterances, valuing the mathematical content at hand in interest-dense
he anticipates mathematical ideas, concepts, rules from the situations.
students’ viewpoint and the direction, in which the social Analysis from the epistemic point of view shows that the
construction of meanings is about to develop. He supports epistemic processes in interest-dense situations are built by
the students in presenting their own mathematical views three different epistemic actions: collectively gathering and
and gives assistance in the use of comprehensive words. connecting mathematical meanings, and structure seeing. A
The teacher will not usually evaluate, he rather poses group of students gather mathematical meanings if the
questions to better understand the students’ ideas. The students in the group gather single units of a mathematical
students comment, change and state more precisely. Pro- content like examples, counter examples, ideas, formulas,
cesses of this kind can only be sustained if the students do ... They collectively connect mathematical meanings if
not orient themselves according to the assumed content- they, as a group, put pieces of knowledge together to make
specific expectations of the teacher, but rather behave sense of connections. Structure seeing means perceiving a

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Toward networking three theoretical approaches: the case of social interactions 253

pattern or a rule which is tested, proved, verified, validated considered in this paper agree on the importance of social
or confirmed. These three kinds of actions shape ideal type interactions for learning processes. Indeed, in the TDS by
processes approximately found in the data. The dynamic of essence, the central object of the theory, the situation,
the epistemic process in these ideal type interest-dense incorporates the idea of social interactions. In IDS, social
situations is organized differently: interactions are regarded as basis, which constitutes
learning mathematics itself. And in AiC, processes of
• In a three-step process gathering meanings provides
constructing knowledge and patterns of social interaction
examples and ideas first, connecting them leads to more
strongly influence each other.
insight in a second step and allows structure seeing in a
Nevertheless, even if there seems to be an agreement
third one. Students stay as long as they need on the first
between the theoretical approaches on the importance of
two steps until structure seeing is possible.
social interactions, there are great differences in the ways
• In a spiral process, gathering and connecting meanings
in which the theoretical frameworks take social interaction
shape a spiral structure. Gathered meanings are con-
into account. For example, in the TDS and IDS learning
nected immediately. This might initiate a process of
situations are central objects while in the AiC approach the
gathering and connecting mathematical meanings based
focus is on the learner or an interacting group of learners.
on the process before, and so on. This way mathemat-
Moreover, experimental studies carried out in the two first
ical ideas are worked out progressively as far as
perspectives generally concern classroom situations or at
possible until structure seeing occurs and a new spiral
least some kind of institutional design while experiments
process may start.
using AiC consider a greater diversity of learning situations
• In a confluent process, students work separately in a
inside or outside the classroom. The AiC approach was
first phase. During the second phase the results are
used for example as the theoretical perspective in a
presented and connected with each other as far as
research study on the learning processes of highly struc-
possible. This provides the basis for structure seeing.
tured, advanced mathematics by a solitary learner (Dreyfus
Gathering, connecting and structure seeing are here
and Kidron, 2006).
intertwined.
Social interactions are also viewed differently by the
Within interest-dense situations neither the teacher nor the TDS and IDS. In IDS, social interactions constitute the
students take the upper hand. The progression of gaining epistemic process. Thus, knowing is an outcome of the
mathematical meanings is due to a fruitful interplay social processes in which a group of students struggle with a
between the students’ concentration on their own epistemic mathematical problem. An interaction structure which is
process and the teacher’s concentration on the students’ shaped by the teacher and the students supports the emer-
epistemic process, both focusing on the construction of gence of these situations. In the TDS, the conceptualization
mathematical ideas which might initiate additional involve- of social interactions includes interactions between students
ment of the students and the teacher. Within this interplay, and also between students and teacher. Social interactions
gathering and connecting mathematical meanings take between students are viewed as a contribution to the
place until the social interaction space is saturated with learning potential of the adidactic milieu. Social interac-
them and structure seeing occurs. tions between teacher and students are approached through
The whole process is pushed by the common goal to the notions of didactic contract, devolution and institu-
produce commonly valuable mathematical ideas. The stu- tionalization that structure the links between the adidactic
dents try to construct own ideas, the teacher provides a and didactic models of situations. In the TDS, great atten-
situation that makes finding valuable mathematical ideas tion is indeed paid to two crucial roles of the teacher: having
possible. This way social interactions generate the emer- the students take the responsibility for the mathematics
gence of mathematical knowledge in interest-dense when solving proposed tasks (devolution process), and
situations. conversely, linking what has been achieved by the students
in the research phase to the official intended knowledge
(institutionalization process) (Artigue et al. 2006b).
3 Mutual benefits and additional insights offered In a more general way, the different views the three
to each other by the frameworks theoretical approaches have in relation to social interac-
tions force us to reconsider these approaches in all their
In the last decade, the extension of focus in mathematics details. The reason for this is that the social interactions, as
education from individual students’ mathematical concep- seen by the different frameworks, intertwine with the other
tions to social interactions among students and between characteristics of the frameworks.
students and teacher has become a general trend. As set In order to compare, contrast and combine the three
forth in the previous sections, the three frameworks theoretical perspectives, it is not sufficient to note

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commonalities or contrasts. We are interested in examin- take into account, from the beginning, some of the con-
ing, what insights each framework can offer to the two textual arrangements and the influence these can have on
others in relation to the way this specific framework views epistemic processes.
the social interactions. Moreover, the specific aspects of According to Hershkowitz et al. (2001), the genesis of
one framework can be viewed in terms of the others and an abstraction originates in the need for a new structure. In
this re-viewing might bring mutual analytic benefits. order to initiate an abstraction, it is thus necessary (though
Investigating these mutual analytic benefits is the core of not sufficient) to cause students’ need for a new structure.
this section, and this paper. We may attain this aim by building situations that reflect in
depth the mathematical epistemology of the given domain.
3.1 TDS and AiC This kind of epistemological concern is very strong in the
TDS, and the notion of fundamental situation has been
The categories of analysis of the AiC framework are introduced for taking it in charge at the theoretical level. It
clearly different from those of the TDS. As stressed above could be helpful for AiC.
the two approaches do not focus on the same objects but on
the learner and the situation, respectively. As regards the 3.1.2 Additional insights offered by AiC to TDS
development of mathematical knowledge, they also use
different categories: AiC approaches abstraction through When TDS is used with a design perspective, situations are
three types of epistemic actions: recognizing, building- often modeled in terms of games, and in that case the
with, constructing; TDS distinguishes between three func- winning states of these games must be clearly identifiable.
tionalities of mathematical knowledge: for acting, for It is expected that the students can tell if they have reached
communicating, for proving, which serve to organize the a winning state, in order to favor adidactic adaptations over
development of students’ conceptualizations through adaptations piloted by the didactic contract. It is also
appropriate situations. Thus the a priori analysis of the TDS expected that students, at least in their great majority, be
accords high importance to the mathematical problem at able to reach such a winning state with pair interactions but
stake, and the nature of the relationships with mathematical without substantial help of the teacher. The situation is
knowledge that the students can develop interacting with different in the AiC approach: the accent is not on the
the milieu and their peers. design of situations obeying the characteristics of adidactic
Due to its focus on the learner, it might seem that the situations recalled above; the task can be an open explo-
epistemic actions in the RBC model are described inde- ration task and the ‘‘end of the game’’ might be not very
pendently of the characteristics of the contextual clear. But, as shown by AiC research, even so, it might be a
components that make them possible. In reality, however, situation offering a rich learning potential, and this vision
contextual aspects in AiC are determining and integral can be helpful for TDS, especially when TDS is used for
factors of learning processes. That is why this framework is analyzing ordinary classrooms situations, which is more
called a model of abstraction in context. Studies within the and more frequent.
AiC perspective analyze the influence of patterns of social In the AiC approach, the focus is on the learner or the
interactions on the processes of constructing knowledge by group of learners. The identification of constructs in the
the learner. Moreover, on-going research studies within the AiC perspective enables the researcher to identify details of
AiC framework deal with the general question of the the constructing process. Even if the intended theoretical
influence of contextual arrangements on different patterns element, the ‘‘end of the game’’ has not been reached or has
of epistemic actions (e.g., Kidron and Dreyfus, 2007). At been reached only partially, the evolution of the process of
the same time, this kind of analysis contributes to the construction and its connections with contextual aspects is
development of the analytical nature of the AiC approach. important in itself. Such a detailed vision can offer com-
plementary insights to those usually reached with the TDS
3.1.1 Additional insights offered by TDS to AiC for identifying the evolution of students’ mathematical
knowledge in the a posteriori analysis, and for becoming
The AiC approach, as a research methodology, is used with aware of some subtle constructions that could not be
task sequences that have been designed with well-defined anticipated in the analysis a priori.
conceptual learning objectives in mind. However, it does
not proceed from a design phase nor does it impose the 3.2 TDS and IDS
kind of a priori analysis that is an essential methodological
tool in TDS. The AiC approach could be enriched with the Close connections between TDS and IDS are less difficult
idea of developing a systematic a priori analysis, as is the to identify than between TDS and AiC. In the two
case in the TDS. It would allow the researchers to better approaches, learning situations and classrooms are given a

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central role. The characteristics of interest-dense situations analysis shows that social interactions are strongly related
and adidactic situations seem rather close, and the dis- to the epistemic process: the epistemic process and the
tinction made between student behavior according to its social interactions build the same blocks.
dependence or not on teacher’s expectation in interest- In IDS, social interactions shape the epistemic process;
dense situations can be easily interpreted in terms of thus, knowing is an outcome of the social processes in
didactic contract. Nevertheless the two theoretical frames which a group of students struggles with a mathematical
do not simply overlap. Social interactions are given in IDS problem: coming to know is part of social interactions in a
a more fundamental role than in the TDS. As pointed out classroom discussion. IDS research tries to find patterns
above, they constitute the epistemic process, which is not which establish the whole situation. All interest-dense sit-
the case in the TDS. uations seem to be coherent, in the terms of AiC, and thus
The combination of the TDS and the theory of didactic have a high potential to lead to constructing.
transposition has led to the notion of mesogenesis which In both frameworks, epistemic actions are used but their
‘‘describes the process by which the teacher organizes a genesis processes are different. The two models can be
milieu with which the students are intended to interact in regarded as useful analytical tools for different but related
order to learn’’. This notion puts the accent on the dynamic purposes.
character of the milieu, and the role the teacher plays in Investigating the epistemic processes in more detail
piloting this dynamic. Considering this process when ana- might lead to mutual benefits for the two frameworks. For
lyzing situations could certainly help characterize example, the following questions might be of interest:
conditions on situations for making them reasonable can- ‘‘What are the deeper reasons that the same methodological
didates for interest-dense situations. Within the framework tools, namely epistemic actions, are useful for both, inter-
of interest-dense situations such situations in everyday est-dense situations and construction of knowledge? Are
classrooms are identified and investigated in order to find there (other?) epistemic actions that might be appropriate
conditions, which hinder or foster their emergence and for investigating both, interest-dense situations and
describe their emergence as ideal types. There is an knowledge construction?’’
underlying social contract, which seems to allow or forbid
the emergence of interest-dense situations. 3.3.1 Additional insights offered by AiC to IDS

3.2.1 Additional insights offered by IDS to TDS AiC deals with contextual influence. The influence of
additional components of context, in addition to the social
Regarding the whole process and its outcomes as consti- interaction component, might also be of importance in the
tuted by social interactions, the theory of IDS could offer framework of IDS. As part of the context, the nature of
TDS a micro-ethnographic approach, which allows to the mathematical topics in the given domain could be
describe in detail, how the emergence of adidactic situa- considered. Taking into account that some constructions
tions or adidactic phases in ordinary situations and its are fragile, the issue of consolidation might also be
underlying social contracts are hindered or fostered. important for IDS research. This may help answer the
question, under what conditions students are able to use
(build-with) the knowledge constructed in interest-dense
3.2.2 Additional insights offered by TDS to IDS situations, in new situations, which are not necessarily
interest-dense.
Through the notions of didactic contract, adidactic situa-
tion and fundamental situation, the TDS offers another 3.3.2 Additional insights offered by IDS to AiC
perspective to reflect on social contracts, on the dynamics
of the epistemic process, and on the building of situations Looking at interest-dense situations as providing motiva-
reflecting in-depth the mathematical epistemology of a tion for in-depth knowledge construction provides an
given domain. This last aspect might be very beneficial, analytic tool for investigating the emergence of the need
especially if there is an intention to extend the project of for a new structure in AiC in terms of the motivation of the
IDS from elementary to advanced mathematical thinking. learner rather than in terms of design. Since it is based on
epistemic actions as well, this analytic tool may be emi-
3.3 AiC and IDS nently suitable to be combined with the RBC epistemic
actions. The perspective of interest-dense situations, its
The focus of AiC are the epistemic actions, hence the epistemic actions, and its background theory might enrich
epistemic process and its outcomes. Social interactions the analytic nature of abstraction in context including the
belong to the context. As has been pointed out above, view of its social constitution.

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4 A concrete example Investigating for each framework the information that

the researchers claim that they miss in the data offered by
In this section, we demonstrate the general ideas developed the video, we learn about the existing positions of the
in the previous section by means of a concrete example. frameworks on the subject of social interactions in learning
The data set from which this example is drawn was pro- processes.
vided by means of a video recorded during a lesson
forming part of a long-term project (Castagnola, Dané, 4.1.1 The TDS lenses
Impedovo, Paola and Tomasi, 2005), in which Italian stu-
dents are introduced to the fundamental concepts of The TDS researchers miss information about the context of
calculus at the beginning of high school. the learning experiment, about which grade the students are
In the specific lesson, a technological artefact (Cabri in, the students’ mathematical and technological back-
géomètre plus) was used in order to mediate the con- ground, about didactic goals of this particular session and
structions of students’ meanings for exponential growth. A its place and role in the teaching of exponential functions.
pair of students, Gabriele and Ciro, is working for about They explain that social interactions as reported in the
1 h on a sequence of three worksheets: in the first, the video are essentially social interactions between the two
students explore the variation of the function x ? 2.7x, observed students and this does not reflect the richness and
mainly on the basis of its graph. In the second worksheet, complexity of the social interactions usually at stake in
the students use Cabri in order to explore the effect of learning processes at schools. Moreover, they add that the
varying the basis of an exponential function. In the third learning episode reported by the video does not permit to
worksheet, the students investigate how the slope of the access the institutionalization phase, which plays a crucial
line tangent to the graph of the function x ? ax in the point role in the learning process according to the TDS theory.
of abscissa x changes with x. The video shows the students’ They wish to know more about the didactical goal of the
explorations in three episodes corresponding to the work- teacher, and especially more about the role of the described
sheets. At the end of the third episode, the students realize situation in the construction of knowledge ‘‘in the long
that exponential growth is directly proportional to the value run’’. They wish to know if the ‘‘nearly isolated’’ func-
of the function itself. During the entire session the role of tioning of the teacher as described in the video is usual and
the teacher seems limited: he interacts just a little with the if this is the case, how the institutionalization phase is
pair of students, mainly during the third episode. taking place.
In collaborative work that preceded the preparation of In their effort towards an a priori analysis, the TDS
this paper, the authors and other colleagues were using, researchers try to anticipate what could have been the
comparing, combining, and contrasting a number of dif- sharing of mathematics responsibilities between the teacher
ferent theoretical approaches while attempting to apply and the students. They claim that this could lead to a rather
them to this common data set. In this paper, we deal only different didactical construction than the construction
with the three frameworks described in the previous sec- observed here, where the teacher would be given a more
tion, and only with social interaction aspects of learning important role, and some local institutionalization would
processes. Each of the authors described and commented take place. They would have expected the teacher to
on the video from the point of view of the framework she exploit the students’ exploration phase, trying to make
or he was most familiar with. By means of these three common reflections with the whole class.
analyses, we aim to exemplify the positions of the three Pointing on what they miss in the data as described in
frameworks in relation to the subject of social interactions, the video, the TDS researchers demonstrate how the central
and the insights offered by each framework to the others. object of their theory, the situation, incorporates the idea of
social interaction and that the conceptualization of the
4.1 The positions of the three frameworks on the role social interactions is not limited to interactions between
of social interactions as seen in the analysis of the students but also includes the teacher.
video
4.1.2 The IDS lenses
A common reaction in the three analyses was a claim that
the video did not provide the data required in order to do The IDS researcher observes that the data shows a group of
the appropriate analysis from the point of view of the two students who work at the computer, mainly without the
specific theoretical framework. The interesting point is that teacher, and that usually the data in IDS analyses consists
the researchers using different theoretical lenses did not of class discourses with the teacher but without the
miss the same data. computer.

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Toward networking three theoretical approaches: the case of social interactions 257

Social interaction in the sense this notion was used in The AiC researchers do not deny the importance of the
previous IDS research takes place only at the end of the social aspects. Social interactions are seen as a part of the
session. The earlier episodes show social interaction as pair context. The AiC researchers are interested in the contex-
interaction with separate roles. Nevertheless, taking the tual influence on the different patterns of epistemic actions.
whole process as given, the IDS researcher was able to In this study, they claim that the limited data did not permit
carry out an analysis by broadening the central concept of such an analysis.
epistemic action in order to be able to include the specific In the following, we observe that in spite of the ‘‘lim-
aspects of the situation at hand. ited’’ data offered by the video, TDS researchers did
Reconstruction of the case through progressively com- succeed in analyzing some contextual influence on the
paring the social interactions and the epistemic process of epistemic actions. This was made possible by the TDS
scenes within the episode led to the central result that the ‘‘a priori’’ analysis. Such an a priori analysis might enrich
students become progressively involved into the epistemic AiC analysis. Mutual benefits between the different
process frameworks as seen by the analyses of the video are the
subject of the next subsection.
• after they have overcome extrinsic obstacles like how
to open a new file or what measure unit means,
4.2 Insights offered by each theory to the others as seen
• as they were able to raise a question which could not be
in the analysis of the video
easily answered,
• while they wanted to write down their results and
4.2.1 TDS and AiC
• when they started to explain their ideas to the teacher at
the end of the episode.
In TDS the a priori analysis has a role of reference and of
However, comparison among learning situations in order revealing the didactical phenomena. Quite often, the
to construct an ideal type description about the social hypotheses made in the a priori analysis are not completely
interactions and the included epistemic process was not confirmed in reality. Differences are observed between
possible. For this purpose, the IDS researcher would need what was expected in the a priori analysis and what actu-
more situations from other pairs of students of the same ally happened. These differences are especially important
class in order to reconstruct how interest-dense situations for a deep understanding of the learning situation, if we
are generated in this class and how the teacher encourages wish to use TDS words. These differences might also
(or blocks) this genesis. Other situations from the class enrich the in-depth analysis of processes of knowledge
are also necessary to find out how valuing mathematical construction with the AiC lenses. We illustrate this claim
contents takes place and what kind of common goals with the video analysis: the TDS analysis of the video
and underlying attitudes towards mathematical values points at the different roles played by the two students and
the teacher and the students produce during social the resulting consequences in terms of ‘‘milieu’’. The TDS
interactions. analysis draws our attention to the interesting fact that two
different students facing a priori the same objective milieu
4.1.3 The AiC lenses can interact very differently with it. In fact they do not
interact with the same milieu: from the very beginning,
Both TDS and IDS researchers require more information Gabriele manipulates the mouse, works with the computer
about classroom situations. This was not the case for the while Ciro works with paper-and-pencil. Gabriele works
AiC researchers. The reason is that for TDS and IDS essentially in the graphical mode while Ciro works in the
learning situations are central objects, while for AiC the algebraic mode.
focus is on the learner. The TDS analysis considers the cognitive effects of this
The AiC researchers missed a teacher-guided discus- different sharing of role observed in the computer envi-
sion. A similar claim was formulated by the TDS ronment. For Gabriele, the interactions with the ‘‘milieu’’
researchers, but the reasons for this claim were different. are as could have been expected in an a priori analysis.
The AiC researchers explain that in such a teacher-guided That is not the case for Ciro who did not interact directly
discussion the concepts are worked out, so that construct- with the machine. An algebraic register took an active role,
ing can be rounded off. They add that this could possibly which would have been unexpected in an a priori analysis.
also have been done by a much more structured worksheet. We illustrate this observation with excerpts that relate to
Their focus is on students’ processes of constructing the the way the students work with the two first Cabri work-
knowledge under consideration. The missing information is sheets as written in an English transcript of the video.
required towards their analysis of students’ emerging The TDS researchers prepare an a priori analysis of the
knowledge constructs. two situations that relate to the first two Cabri worksheets.

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In the first situation, the students were asked to explore the Ciro pronounces another conjecture:
function x ? 2.7x from its graphical representation. The (90) The value of f(2)/f(1) where f(x) = 2.7x is 2.7!
students were asked to study how y varies when x varies It seems that once more he uses the algebraic register.
and then to observe what happens when x is negative. In He does not manipulate the computer and in any case the
the second situation, the students were asked to use the ‘‘verification’’ with the computer does not give values of
second Cabri worksheet to explore the notion of basis of an f(2) and f(1) which permit to obtain precisely 2.7 as a ratio.
exponential function. This aim was translated in the TDS All these excerpts demonstrate that the two students did
a priori analysis into an understanding how the value of the not interact with the same milieu.
basis of the exponential influences the way the curve looks Such an a priori analysis, as demonstrated above, which
or, in other words, into an understanding of the link is an essential methodological tool in TDS, might enrich
between the value of the basis and graphical characteristics the AiC analysis of the learners’ epistemic actions. It will
of the curve. Some conjectures were prepared by the TDS permit to better take into account from the beginning some
researchers in relation to the anticipated interactions of the of the contextual factors and their influence on epistemic
students with the milieu in the two situations. processes.
For Gabriele, these anticipated interactions with the The task proposed to the students in the video session is
milieu were observed as expected in the a priori analysis. not the solving of a mathematical problem as usual in tasks
For example, one conjecture in the a priori analysis that designed using TDS or AiC, but an exploration task. For
relates to the first situation was that when x decreases with the TDS researchers this might affect the analysis as they
negative values smaller and smaller (x is moving to the cannot model the situation as a game whose winning states
left) y is approaching more and more the value zero and could be clearly identifiable. Thus the question of the ‘‘end
then obtains this value. of the game’’ is raised and also the question of the role-
This conjecture was expressed by Gabriele played by the didactic contract in that respect. For the AiC
(40) This is approaching zero. researchers, the lack of a specific mathematical task creates
(109) For the negative x’s the function decreases up the the difficulty of defining the specific mathematical con-
point... up to this point here where it’s zero. structs on which the analysis could focus.
The conjecture leans on an observation of the Cabri Nevertheless, the AiC analysis of the video demon-
worksheet. It seems that in order to find the value where the strates that even though the ‘‘end of the game’’ is not well
function is zero, Gabriele moves the point x from the right defined, the situation does offer a rich learning potential. In
to the left, and this gives the ‘‘feeling’’ that the values of fact, using the data offered in the video the AiC researchers
f(x) decrease. aimed to identify knowledge constructs and this identifi-
Ciro’s reactions were different. cation helped them to see the details of the constructing
For example, one conjecture in the a priori analysis that process. As an example, they observed the transition from
relates to the first situation was that ‘‘when x approaches 0, the geometric representation of the derivative as a tangent,
y approaches 1 and possibly for x equals 0, y equals 1, even a local construct, to the more global view as expressed by
if this fact is not directly observable’’. Ciro’s first conjec- Gabriele while manipulating the third Cabri worksheet:
ture relates to the value at zero in terms of equality. (349) well, if you take it... if you take it with a very large
(3) It’s 1 at 0. zoom... you can approximate it with many small lines
This conjecture was not a result of a graphical obser- (351), (353) Such lines may have slope that increase
vation: Ciro adds an algebraic proof: This view of the exponential function which can be
(5) 2.70, a number to the 0 gives 1. approximated by many small line elements, whose slope
Ciro also claims that increases with x, marks the transition from a set of points to
(9) If we replace 2.7 by 1 we obtain a straight line. the graph of the exponential function—the transition from
This conjecture was anticipated in the a priori analysis discrete to continuous. This transition was observed by
of the second situation with the second Cabri worksheet in means of verbalization with a language more and more
which the students could manipulate different values of the precise during the constructing process.
basis a and reach different conclusions for a [ 1, a \ 1, These details of the constructing processes help towards
and also for a = 1 in which they could realize that the curve an awareness of subtle constructions that might not be
is a horizontal line. But this manipulation was not possible anticipated in the TDS a priori analysis.
with the first worksheet which the students followed at that
time. Indeed, as we can read in the following excerpt Ciro’s 4.2.2 AiC and IDS
claim was a result of an algebraic register:
(23) While x is changing, even if x is 100, however, 1100 AiC researchers are interested in epistemological, cognitive
is 1. and social factors towards their qualitative analysis of

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processes of knowledge construction. While AiC

researchers may consider individual and social aspects of
knowledge construction, IDS researchers focus on inter-
actions between students and between students and teacher,
since they consider knowledge as being socially
constituted.
The transcript of the video contains three episodes. It is
interesting to note that AiC and IDS researchers decided
separately to focus mainly on the same part of the third
episode. Their analysis, however, is different.
The AiC analysis highlights the identification of con-
structs and their specifics like ‘‘the geometrical
representation of the derivative as a tangent’’, ‘‘the The focus of the IDS analysis is different: it is not only
asymptotical behaviour of the function’’... The AiC anal- on the evolution of the precision of language but above all
ysis highlights the evolution of thinking: the passage from how this is generated. The IDS analysis makes it clear that
a construction to another, from a local construct ‘‘geo- during the process the students construct further reaching
metrical representation of the derivative as a tangent’’ to a meanings about the exponential functions but the analysis
global view ‘‘the exponential function which can be does not specify these constructs in detail. Instead, there
approximated by many small lines which have an are observations of the way students get excited about the
increasing slope’’. The analysis deals with the fact that process of constructing deeper meanings, how they get
constructions are nested. It also deals with the way students involved in the activity and how they encourage each other:
‘‘build-with’’ earlier constructs, for example during further For instance, the analysis shows two different kinds of
constructing actions. In the following, we describe a short obstacles; those in which the students do not get involved
intervention of the teacher at the end of the episode and his (which are avoided or overcome with the help of other
challenging question. The teacher’s intervention is used by students or the teacher) and obstacles in which the students
the AiC researchers to observe a consolidation phase for become involved. Their contrasting behaviors indicate the
the couple of students. students’ interest in ‘‘constructing new mathematical
In this episode we observe the students’ construction of meanings’’ as they tried to understand and describe how a
knowledge that in the case of the exponential function, the tangent of the exponential function is produced by the
growth percentage of the y’s remains constant. electronic learning environment.
The teacher asked them a challenging question: (287) Ciro: look it ... slowly ... slowly it seems that ... I
(360) Does it surprise you, the fact that the function do not know like saying tangent
crushes on the x-axis? Here [x \ 0] it seems that the (288) Gabriele: eh ... yes
function increases not much and here [x [ 0] it increases (289) Ciro: It seems that it touches it, let’s go let’s go
very much. Does it surprise you such a type of increasing let’s go
with the ratio being constant? Ciro describes what happens and interprets it (287). He
The students’ self-confidence, their resistance to chal- encourages Gabriele to continue drawing the mouse at the
lenges were observed in their answers. computer, and seems to get excited (289).
(362) Sure, because before, the numbers are small and The situation consists of three episodes. Mainly gath-
with small numbers the ratio is always between nearer ering meanings and overcoming extrinsic obstacles are
points. observed in the first episode, mainly connecting meanings
The researchers also noticed that the students’ language and deepening insight through writing down the findings
is more and more precise while they consolidate earlier are observed in the second episode, finally seeing struc-
constructs. tures, describing, explaining and validating them occurs
(368.1) If the dx increases again, the line passes through during the third episode. The three episodes organize a
P and Q and is almost constant, it becomes almost a tan- three-step situation. Furthermore, the IDS analysis draws
gent... This is because if we take a very big zoom, we can our attention to the increasing involvement of the students,
approximate the exponential function with many lines with which becomes more intensive when the teacher is inclu-
an ever increasing slope. ded in the discussion: the fact that the teacher shows
(368.2) Then if the point P is very close to zero, this line interest in their mathematical views involves the students
approximates very much the exponential function. Also, even deeper.
here where the numbers are very small, it increases very When we read the two analyses, the different focus of
little, almost like a straight line. attention is clear. Interestingly, the two teams chose the

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same part of episode for their main analysis. In this part of by means of a priori analysis and of the identification of the
the episode, the AiC analysis recognized deep construction characteristics of the interaction with the milieu that each
of knowledge. It seems that among interest-dense situations student develops, reveal to the readers the role sharing of
there are situations with deep construction of knowledge as the two students in the computer environment, and the
well. Even so, IDS analysis could benefit from other cognitive effects of this role sharing—a fact which was not
components of context such as the epistemology of the clear in the other analyses. On the other hand, AiC and IDS
given mathematical domain as it is used in the AiC anal- lenses reveal to the readers that the role of the teacher was
ysis. It could benefit also from the cognitive factors as used not as limited as it seemed at first glance. AiC lenses reveal
in the AiC analysis of epistemic actions. this fact by focusing on the learners’ epistemic actions (the
On the other hand, using the IDS analysis, the AiC team consolidation phase) and IDS lenses reveal it by observing
gains an interesting additional perspective of the relation students’ increasing involvement and their progression of
between the motivation for a new construct and the process insight.
of knowledge construction. This is especially important Being intrigued by the differences in the analyses in
because the need for a new structure might be seen as a first these two crucial aspects of social interactions, we wanted
step towards abstraction. to know more about the teacher’s views and aims in this
experience. The teacher was asked to answer a sequence of
4.2.3 IDS and TDS written questions. We report some excerpts of his answers.
(1) In relation to student interactions:
The above description of the IDS analysis of the video, the I hope students interact actively; that they listen to the
entire learning situation in which the social interactions are words of other students... In general, I don’t like that Ciro
highlighted including, for example, the way the teacher uses only paper and pencil and Gabriele uses only the PC.
shows interest in the students’ mathematical views, might This subdivision of the role may be useful in order to reach
offer TDS an approach which allows to describe, how the the final result in a short time, but it may be an obstacle for
emergence of adidactic situations or adidactic phases are the process of construction of meaning.
encouraged, and how the teacher manages the devolution The obstacle was very clear in the TDS analysis.
process necessary for adidacticity. However, the analysis from the IDS perspective in the last
Vice versa, we show in what follows how the a priori episode shows that the two boys work deeply together
analysis of TDS offers another perspective to IDS to think when the dynamic of the epistemic process increases, for
about the building of situations reflecting in-depth the example they become deeper involved in the process of
mathematical epistemology of a given domain and the constructing mathematical meaning when they write down
consequence of such reflection on the analysis of the social their findings.
interactions. (2) In relation to the role of the teacher (the teacher was
The IDS analysis of the video mentions that the activity asked how he decides when to get involved with a pair of
is divided between the two students: Ciro reads out the students):
tasks on the worksheet, Gabriele, working directly with the I enter a working group if the students call me. ...At
computer, performs according to Ciro’s instructions and other times, I enter because I realize that students have
then describes what he sees on the screen. very good ideas that need to be treated more deeply. ...I try
The IDS analysis questions whether the group acts as a to work in a zone of proximal development. The video
unity and what role the computer plays. Detailed answers analysis and the attention we paid to gestures made me
to these questions are offered by the TDS analysis of the aware of the so called ‘‘semiotic game’’ that consists in
students’ role sharing in the computer environment. The using the same gestures of students but accompanying them
important point we want to make clear is that the awareness with a more specific and precise language in relation to the
of these specific interactions between the two students was language used by students. The semiotic game, if it is used
possible by means of the a priori analysis, which took into with awareness, may be a very good tool to introduce
account the mathematical epistemology of the given students to institutional knowledge.
domain. The fact that an algebraic register took an active Even if AiC or IDS lenses were not aware of the
role, which was unexpected in the a priori analysis reveals semiotic game, they did realize the important role of the
important details about the interactions between the two teacher and his influence on the students’ knowledge
students. constructs for AiC and on the students’ increased interest
The results of the analyses showed differences in rela- for IDS.
tion to two crucial characteristics of social interactions in It might be interesting to point out that the analyzed
the teaching–learning experience: Interaction between the video comes from a group of Italian researchers who
two students, and the role of the teacher. The TDS lenses, usually rely in their approaches on semiotic games.

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Gestures can very well attest to epistemic actions. Never- make very clear the assumptions underlying each theoret-
theless, neither the AiC or IDS lenses paid attention to such ical framework, some of which may be hidden. This is
gestures. This observation might demonstrate that for rewarding in itself but let us consider the difficulties that
addressing certain semiotic concerns the TDS, AiC and may arise in the process. Indeed, considering the three
IDS frameworks should need to be networked with other frameworks described in this paper, there might be possible
frameworks. contradictions between the underlying assumptions of the
theoretical approaches.
Specifically, we have observed how each theoretical
5 The process of networking between theoretical framework has its own way of considering the role of
approaches: difficulties and methodological social interactions in the learning process: the social
reflections interactions are an important part of the context in AiC; but
in relation to IDS, social interactions are not viewed as a
In the preceding sections, we demonstrated that the three part of the context: they are the basis that constitutes
theoretical frameworks potentially complement and thus learning mathematics; and in the TDS, social interactions
enrich each other if links between them can be established. are part of the situation, the system of relationships
We pointed out potential benefits but we should also point between teacher, students and mathematics. Given these
to the problems that will necessarily arise in the process of differences, the question arises how it is possible to
linking between theoretical approaches. Therefore, the establish links between the theoretical approaches without
crucial question is not only whether the theoretical getting embroiled in contradictions between the basic
approaches can complement each other but how this can be assumptions underlying each theory.
achieved. To be more specific about the problems that may arise,
There is no doubt that the history of the domain of let us limit our considerations temporarily to two theoret-
mathematics education is rich in constructions combining ical approaches: As a consequence of the above
the affordances of several theoretical approaches for differences, the categories of analysis of the AiC frame-
benefiting from their complementarities. And even in this work are different from those of the TDS. As stressed in the
article, when presenting how the TDS approaches social previous sections, the two frameworks use different cate-
interactions, we have mentioned productive links made gories in relation to the analysis of the development of
between concepts from the TDS and the ATD. But these mathematical knowledge. AiC approaches abstraction
two theoretical approaches were born in the same edu- through three types of epistemic actions: recognizing,
cational and didactic culture, have been developed jointly, building-with, constructing; TDS distinguishes between
and building links between them has been a constant three functionalities of mathematical knowledge: for act-
effort of the didactic community since the 1980s. The ing, for communicating, for proving, which serve to
problem we address in this article is a much more difficult organize the development of students’ conceptualizations
one. through appropriate situations. Should we use both cate-
In the previous section, in which we described the three gories of analysis? Should we try to find a smallest
analyses of the video learning–teaching experience, we common denominator between the categories (which might
observed the researchers’ common reaction that the video turn out to be empty)?
did not provide the data required in order to do the Similar difficulties arise while using the lenses offered
appropriate analysis from the point of view of each specific by interest-dense situations and AiC: although epistemic
theoretical framework. This common reaction of insuffi- actions are used by both frameworks, not only are they
cient data reflects in fact deeper questions about the different actions but they are viewed in different ways.
minimal units of reality which are considered as pertinent Investigating whether there are (other?) epistemic actions
in a given research paradigm in order to make sense of this that might be appropriate for considering both, interest-
reality and to permit the analysis of the observed facts. The dense situations and knowledge construction is a complex
video leads us as researchers to think about the interesting issue.
question what constitutes a significant unit for our didactic Having become aware of the substantial difficulties
analysis. The answer might be different for different the- involved in any attempt to connect theoretical approaches,
oretical lenses. we raise the question what can (and what cannot) be pos-
sible aims of such an effort. Clearly, any attempt at
5.1 Difficulties unifying the three theoretical approaches, or even two of
them, into an encompassing theory is doomed to failure
Our efforts at answering the question how the three theo- before it even starts. Such an attempt would necessarily
retical approaches can complement each other force us to destroy the basic assumptions of all theoretical approaches

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involved, or at least of all but one. What, then, can we aim the benefit, additional insight, limitations and tools each
at? We propose to aim at establishing a network of links of the approaches can offer for working with the others;
between the theoretical approaches. In networking, we • Connect the results into a set of complementary views
want to retain the specificity of each theoretical framework taking into account all three theoretical approaches, and
with its basic assumptions, and at the same time profit describe how this might be able to assist our under-
from combining the different theoretical lenses. What we standing of learning processes.
aim at is to develop meta-theoretical tools able to support As mentioned in the introductory chapter our paper is an
the communication between different theoretical lan- example for coordinating theoretical approaches. This
guages, which enable researchers to benefit from their might be a first step towards integrating approaches.
complementarities. Comparing and contrasting the three theoretical
approaches we began to understand the other theories and
5.2 Methodological reflections even our own theoretical approaches better than before. As
we started to look for how combining theories might be
In the example described in the previous section, the possible while experiencing what the theories can mutually
authors were comparing, combining, and contrasting the- learn from each other we did not only understand the
oretical approaches while attempting to apply them to the theories better, we found commonalities and differences.
common dataset provided by the video. One might say that As we made progress in this networking process we dis-
we were beginning to ‘‘network with theoretical approa- covered complementary aspects, which could be regarded
ches’’. Here, the term ‘‘networking with theoretical as aspects to coordinate or integrate.
approaches’’ is used in a sensitizing way in order to find out These insights lead to the impression that the presented
how theoretical approaches can be combined, compared networking strategies in the introductory chapter are nested
and contrasted. One of our aims is to develop heuristics in nature: a process of integrating or even synthesizing
about how networking with theoretical approaches takes theories would include processes of combining and coor-
place and what it could potentially lead to. Through dinating in order to find out in what way the theories are
negotiations and methodological and methodical reflec- complementary; combining and coordinating includes
tions meta-theoretical tools might be developed. investigating commonalities and differences through pro-
We assumed that researchers networking with each cesses of comparing and contrasting; processes of
other as theorists produce implicit knowledge about how comparing and contrasting involves understanding the
‘‘networking with theoretical approaches’’ could proceed. theories in question and making them understandable.
We further assumed that this implicit knowledge can be
uncovered through reflections about the process.
How did we proceed? We chose an aspect of the
6 Conclusion
learning process, which has some relevance in all three
theoretical approaches, namely social interactions. We did
In this paper, starting from the diversity of existing theo-
not specify this aspect very precisely in order to leave it
retical frameworks in mathematics education, and the
relevant for all three frameworks. We presented different
impossibility of any one of these to give a full account of
views on this aspect and its roles in the different theoretical
the complexity of learning processes in mathematics, we
approaches. We compared and contrasted each pair of
presented the idea of looking for fruitful combinations or
theoretical approaches in more detail focusing on benefits,
networking between theoretical approaches. For exploring
additional insights, and tools which one theory can offer to
this idea, relying on discussions initiated at CERME4 and
the other and vice versa.
continued since then, among others at CERME5, we
Our analysis of the complexity of the process of linking
decided to select theoretical frameworks we were familiar
between theoretical approaches led us to the conclusion
with, and to investigate how these could be compared,
that the following heuristics might support networking:
contrasted and combined in a coherent way in order to
• Use a common, but not precisely defined aspect that all increase our understanding of learning processes in math-
the theoretical approaches share and produce an ematics. For this purpose, we selected three theoretical
overview of the theoretical approaches according to frames: the Theory of Didactical Situations, the nested
this aspect; epistemic actions model for abstraction in context, and the
• Find out what ideas each pair of theoretical approaches approach in terms of interest-dense situations; as an
share; example, we discussed in some detail how each of these is
• Compare and contrast each pair of theoretical taking into account social interactions. We observed in a
approaches according to the common aspect; consider concrete example how a combined use of the three

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Toward networking three theoretical approaches: the case of social interactions 263

frameworks permits to deepen the analysis of a given sit- about the background and features of the project. The material which
uation but we should also make clear that behind this was prepared by Domingo Paola, Cristina Sabena and Ferdinando
Arzarello was the basis for our research. We especially thank Ferdi-
important practical use there is the drive to make mathe- nando for introducing us to the interesting world of semiotic analysis.
matics education as a discipline progress by achieving
more internal cohesion.
The theoretical frames we have chosen are quite dif-
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