A tool for analysing multimodal behaviours in the mathematics classroom

In this study we take the perspective of multimodality coming from communication design and neuroscience to integrate it with mathematics education. We think that in the mathematics classrooms interaction and communication are multimodal in the same way as text and discourse are in the digital era. Our analysis studies learners’ and teachers’ cognitive processes by means of a semiotic lens, focussing on their multimodal productions: gestures, words, actions, and inscriptions. We introduce the timeline as an analysis tool that considers the variety of semiotic resources in the classroom over time. The timeline allows us to observe dynamic evolutions of signs, and to better understand the role they play in mathematics teaching and learning.