Drawing on video recorded lessons from secondary mathematics classrooms in Norway (n= 32 lessons), Finland (n= 32 lessons) and Sweden (n=30) we analyze and compare student engagement and participation in these three countries. A standardized observation manual, the PLATO-Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation (see Grossmann, 2015) is used to analyze all the lessons. PLATO is a thoroughly validated observation manual developed to observe key dimensions of high quality teaching. For our analyses, each recorded lesson was divided into events of 15 minutes and coded by at least one certified PLATO rater. Raters assigned a code to the segment using a four-point scale, depending on the amount of evidence of classroom discourse. The PLATO element we draw on in this study is Classroom Discourse, used to measure the quantity and quality of conversation in a classroom. Our analyses focus on the opportunities students have for extended subject related conversations with the teacher and among peers, as well the extent to which the teacher and other students pick up, build on, and clarify each other’s ideas. Our key findings are that while the code Classroom Discourse (CD) seem to capture key ingredients of the instructional practices taking place in the Norwegian and Swedish Classrooms it work less so for the Finnish classrooms. Our analyses suggest that while the Norwegian and Swedish classrooms score medium/ high on the element Classroom Discourse, Finnish classrooms point to a low score on this element. Low score here means that there are few opportunities for mathematical-related student talk and that most of the talk is tightly teacher directed. Medium (and high) score indicate opportunities for mathematical- related student talk and that extend to more than 5 minutes. The dimension Intellectual Challenge (IC), on the other hand, point to a reversed pattern. Here Norwegian/ Swedish classrooms score at the low end while Finnish classrooms score at the medium and high end. Whether these findings suggest distinct instructional practices in these countries will be discussed. But these differences could also illustrate how coding systems, as for example the PLATO manual, privilege specific approaches to teaching and learning while neglecting others. Like Clark e et al. (2006) we discuss how observation systems embody a community’s view of high quality teaching and learning components and will vary, emphasizing different decompositions of teaching and learning and implicitly referencing different goals of education and various roles for the teachers.

Clarke, D., Emanuelsson, J., Jablonka, E. & Chee Mok, I. A. (Eds.), (2006). Making Connections:Comparing Mathematics Classrooms Around The World. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Grossman P. (2015). Protocol for Language Art Teacher Observations (PLATO), Stanford University. Version 5.0. Palo Alto: Stanford, https://cset.stanford.edu/research/plato.