| The purpose of our study was to examine how participants of a public online mathematics discussion forum collaborated, negotiated, and generated new meaning and understanding through dialogue, intertextuality and polyvocality while constructing undergraduate mathematics knowledge. Our study was conducted under Kenneth Gergen's theoretical perspective of social constructionism and the methodology and methods proposed by J. P. Gee. Analysis of data included five months of threaded discussions divided into three periods of analysis which gave the researcher the opportunity to develop, review, and refine a preliminary mathematics discourse model.;Preliminary mathematics discourse models showed how participants engaged in dialogues that included specific activities and connections. Data also showed how participants used common language and mathematical symbols to communicate, the state of mind of the forum participants (social identity), the relationships they engaged in, and how they resolved their mathematical questions, problems, and inquiries. |
