Epistemic management in mathematics classroom interactions: Student claims of not knowing or not understanding

An important role of classroom interaction is the processes involved in knowing or coming to know. Following a conversation analytical approach, this study investigates how students’ claims of not knowing, not remembering or not understanding are handled by mathematics teachers in whole class interactions. The study draws on video recordings of 42 mathematics lessons from 8 secondary schools in England. It is argued that claims of not knowing and claims of not remembering perform different social actions and are consequently treated differently by teachers. Claims of not knowing can challenge the assumption that knowledge can be taken-as-shared in a way that claims of not remembering do not. This contributes to the research field of mathematics classroom interaction as it nuances the epistemic management within these interactions and how this can contribute to the norms around the negotiation of meaning.