Discourse and Situated Learning in Math Teacher Twitter

Abstract

Math Teacher Twitter is considered by some to provide an important example of contemporary professional development that can take place within a virtual participatory media platform. This study investigated the phenomenon of Math Teacher Twitter by analyzing a dataset of 9881 tweets associated with 3133 profiles obtained by querying the Twitter API using a set of four key Math Education Twitter Hashtags (METHs), #mtbos, #iteachmath, #mathchat, and #math. Investigating the discourse features hashtags used, tweet content, discursive style, values expressed, profile content, and engagement, allowed a description of the Twitter discourse associated with Math Teacher Twitter to be developed. Particular patterns of hashtag use, discursive style and value expression were associated with a difference in engagement, topical relevance, and profile descriptions. The elements of this Twitter discourse were further analyzed from the perspectives of two models of situated learning: the affinity spaces and communities of practice. This analysis suggested that while the affinity space model provides helpful descriptions of particular features of Math Teacher Twitter, the critical perspective provided by the communities of practice model remains helpful in understanding the underlying dynamics of this phenomenon. The methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for researchers who wish to observe and understand Math Teacher Twitter are discussed, along with some practical implications for its participants.