Exploratory talk in mathematics lesson study

Context: This lesson study was carried out in a primary school context with Year 6 pupils learning mathematics. The school is Rockmount Primary School, a state-funded urban primary school on the border of inner London, serving a mixed-income community. The school teaches pupils aged 3 to 11, with English as the main language of instruction. The inquiry was needed because the mathematics content was new and potentially difficult for pupils to access immediately, and the team wanted to explore whether structured exploratory talk could support understanding, reasoning and problem solving. Aims: The inquiry focused on how Year 6 pupils could be helped to use structured exploratory talk routines to develop reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics, especially in relation to sequences, nth term, and algebraic thinking. The team also wanted to improve the quality and balance of pupil participation in talk, especially for quieter pupils and for pupils who tended to dominate discussion. Methods: The inquiry used a research lesson study approach. The lesson study team consisted of three staff members: a deputy headteacher/senior oracy lead, an oracy lead/class teacher, and a class teacher/STEM lead. The participants were Year 6 pupils. Three case pupils were selected to represent different patterns of participation and attainment. Evidence included lesson observations, post-lesson student interviews, post-lesson team discussions, planning notes, and whole-class assessment judgements recorded in the workbook. Findings: The evidence suggests that structured exploratory talk supported access to challenging mathematical concepts. In Research Lesson 1, some pupils benefited from partner discussion, but participation was uneven: quieter pupils could remain passive, while more confident pupils could dominate. In Research Lesson 2, the introduction of talk tokens, changed groupings, and groups of three led to more balanced discussion, stronger engagement, and greater confidence, especially for the quieter case pupil. The evidence also suggests that these strategies supported both curriculum understanding and oracy development. Conclusions, originality, value and implications: The lesson study suggests that structured talk routines such as talk tokens, sentence stems, participation systems, and flexible grouping can make challenging mathematical thinking more accessible while improving the quality of classroom dialogue. A key implication is that teachers need to model and scaffold not only mathematical reasoning but also how pupils can contribute to discussion when they are uncertain. The study also suggests possible wider implications for formative assessment, inclusion, and whole-school oracy practice.

Keywords

exploratory talk, oracy, mathematics, algebra, nth term, reasoning, problem-solving, lesson study, talk tokens

Permanent link to cite this item

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14069/1399
https://doi.org/10.71779/797

Collections

Camtree Research Reports