ISJ April 2014: Teacher dependent discourse patterns: variations in student discourse roles in an International Baccalaureate school – a mathematics focus

Donna Pendergast, Shelley Dole & Damian Rentoule

Abstract:

The International Baccalaureate offers a consistent approach for curriculum and pedagogy. In this study, a critical discourse analysis of student experiences in a Middle Years Programme and a Diploma Programme was conducted in an international school, revealing inconsistencies in classroom discourse patterns between teachers of mathematics.

Findings posit that individual teacher’s pedagogical preferences are an important determinant of student experiences of classroom discourse. Hence, the teacher, not the programme, determines a student’s classroom experience suggesting that pedagogical intervention must target specific teachers for change.