The language used to articulate content as an aspect of pedagogical content knowledge

Mathematical knowledge in classrooms is mediated through the use of both technical and informal language. This paper is a report of a study of the language use of teachers as they examine students’ work and discuss teaching for the topic of fraction operations. This provides a window on their pedagogical content knowledge and also on the way in which language is used to make sense of mathematical knowledge, either personally or for students. It was found that some mathematical knowledge appeared to be taken as understood, perhaps because the expected words were used.