Implementing the Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics: Highlighting the Humanistic Dimensions of Mathematics Activity through Classroom Discourse

Classroom discourse is often understood as the process of engaging the members of the classroom community—students and teachers—in talking with one another. In this discussion 1 use the term classroom discourse to mean the process of engaging the classroom community in real dialogue, wherein meaning is negotiated and assumptions are questioned. An underlying assumption throughout the discussion is that classroom discourse can help shape the views of the nature of mathematics that are held by students. The goal of this article is to raise questions and invite the readers to reflect on the issues raised rather than to answer any specific questions.