In C.-K. Looi, J. L. Polman, U. Cress, & P. Reimann (Eds.), “Transforming learning, empowering learners,” Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2016) (Vol. 1, “Full Papers”, pp. 122-129). Singapore: International Society of the Learning Sciences.
We present a detailed account of interactional mechanisms that support participation in STEM disciplinary practices as an adult and a child explore a technologyenabled embodied learning environment for mathematics. Drawing on ethnomethodological studies of technology-rich workplaces, we trace the process of transforming a vague reference into a mutually available mathematical object: a covariant variable. Our analysis reveals that this mathematical object is an interactional achievement, configured via a reciprocal process of instructing one another’s attention. In particular, we demonstrate how participants’ explicit responsiveness to indexical and multimodal resources achieves this object.