Analyzing the Development of Mathematical Group Cognition

This analysis follows a virtual math team as it engages in dynamic-geometry exploration for eight hour-long sessions in a chat room with a multi-user version of GeoGebra. It describes the display of mathematical reasoning by the team of three eighth-grade students discussing the dependencies of several dynamic-geometry figures. By analyzing the network of mutual responses displayed in the logs coordinated with the geometric actions displayed in the replayer, it is possible to follow the meaning-making process of the team and to observe how the team develops its mathematical group cognition. The analysis is based on displays of evidence of individual cognition, group process and mathematical reasoning. In particular, the analysis focuses on these areas of the cognitive development of the team: i. Its effective team collaboration, ii. Its productive mathematical discourse, iii. Its enacted use of dynamic-geometry tools and iv. Its ability to identify and construct dynamic-geometry dependencies by