Ways in which engaging with someone else's reasoning is productive

Classrooms which involve students in mathematical discourse are becoming ever more prominent for the simple reason that they have been shown to support student learning and affinity for content. While support for outcomes has been shown, less is known about how or why such strategies benefit students. In this paper, we report on one such finding: namely that when students engage with another's reasoning, as necessitated by interactive conversation, it supports their own conceptual growth and change. This qualitative analysis of 10 university students provides insight into what engaging with another's reasoning entails and suggests that higher levels of engagement support higher levels of conceptual growth. We conclude with implications for instructional practice and future research.