The role of verbal interaction in the acquisition of algebraic thinking in primary instruction
The purpose of this study was to examine student-teacher verbal interactions that highlight the role of language in the development of algebraic thinking from a cultural-historical perspective. The interactions took place during tasks dealing with the perception of patterns in non-numeric sequences. The study was conducted as part of a partnership between primary school teachers and researchers associated with an academic master’s degree. The study was developed in a real-life context, with 29 third-grade primary students (8-9 years old). The collected data reveals that “students-teachers” verbal interactions are conducive to developing algebraic thinking without the introduction of mathematical language (Mason, 2007; Radford, 2013, 2014).