Abstract

In this article we analyze the drawings made by third grade students from Chile and Finland, when asked to draw their math class. This activity was the starting test of the Chile – Finland comparative study, that was applied to pupils from 10 classes (N = 153) in Finland and 10 classes (N = 326) in Chile. Through analyzing these drawings we tried to reveal third-graders’ conceptions about communication on mathematics and its teaching. The results show that pupils’ conceptions about communication are very different in these countries, although there are also many similarities. In the drawings of both countries, a teacher’s actions are seen similarly: The teacher teaches, observes.