In this talk, teaching quality is examined through a praxeological lens, conceptualized as a situated and relational characteristic of teaching practices. Unlike standardized observation manuals commonly used in teaching quality research, which rely on predefined dimensions and indicators (Praetorius & Charalambous, 2018), this approach investigates teaching quality “from within” (Breidenstein et al., submitted). It focuses on the normativity inherent in teaching practices, asking what norms guide the actions of those involved and what conceptions of ‘quality’ underpin their practices (Martens & Asbrand, 2022). From this perspective, teaching quality appears as an emergent characteristic of interactions in the classroom that allows for subject-specific teaching and learning and at the same time considers the different orientations of those involved and their practical implementation. As “an alternative research approach compared to an evaluative, norm- and criteria-based analysis of subject teaching” (Martens & Asbrand, 2022), Documentary Video Analysis is used in this study. Applied to a Grade 8 mathematics lesson on algebraic problem-solving, this method examines tasks as central mediators in instructional interactions, revealing how subject-specific content is co-constructed. Sequential interaction analysis is used to address the multilayered complexity of classroom practices, including verbal, nonverbal, and material dimensions (Martens & Asbrand, 2022). Drawing on Bohnsack’s (2010) distinction between immanent and documentary meaning, task prompts are analyzed as propositions that introduce specific orientations. Participants engage with these propositions by building on, modifying, or rejecting them, revealing implicit patterns of orientation (Hempel & Jahr, 2024; Schreyer, 2024). By locating quality within the practices themselves, the study contrasts with traditional output-oriented models and emphasizes the contingencies and materiality of classroom interactions. The findings contribute to a differentiated understanding of subject-specific teaching quality by foregrounding the active role of students in shaping instructional processes. Drawing on the concept of “Studenting,” (Fenstermacher, 1986) the study highlights how students engage with and reconstruct instructional offers through their situated actions, thereby actively co-constructing teaching quality in classroom interactions. This praxeological approach methodologically addresses how content is formed and produced in classroom interactions by linking it to the emergent norms and practices of the participants. Observers applying this framework require both deep content knowledge and an understanding of the inherent logic of the subject matter to effectively interpret these interactions. Challenges include balancing general and subject-specific dimensions of quality and addressing biases in observers’ interpretations of tasks and student responses.

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