An Activity-Based Perspective on Mathematical Authority

In this mixed-methods study, we introduce an activity-based perspective on mathematical authority that considers who leads mathematical activities in a classroom. Our framework for mathematical authority extends existing research that focuses primarily on Authoring mathematical ideas to include the activities of Visualizing and Speaking. Using data from 129 lessons, we identified six authority structures that reflect consistencies in how mathematical authority was distributed across Authoring, Speaking, and Visualizing. These authority structures provide greater clarity and nuance to prior work on shared authority. We also used loglinear models to identify relationships among co-occurring authoritative activities and found that when students had authority for Visualizing, Speaking, and using Previously Generated Student Work, they were more likely to have authority for Authoring.