Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify difficulties in communicating structured mathematical concepts. We first discuss a framework in order to identify such difficulties on the basis of the dual nature of mathematical conceptions, which are operational and structural concepts. According to this framework, we focus on two difficulties which depend on the nature of mathematical concepts. One difficulty is actualized when the sender adds his interpretation to the message. The other difficulty is actualized when the receivers interpret the message. In this study, we observed a first grade mathematics class in our College for the Hearing Impaired. One out of eleven freshmen in the class was selected as the sender. He explained his solution to the other ten students. In the result of our observation, ten students were classified into four groups according to our framework.
