characterizing pedagogical flow presents conclusions from a multi-disciplinary, multi-national research project blending quantitative and qualitative approaches through a discourse methodology. the work produced portraits of mathematics and science education that were dramatically different for each of the countries involved: france, japan, norway, spain, switzerland, and the united states. to explain these differences, it is proposed that the interaction of curriculum and pedagogy is culturally unique and yields classroom learning experiences that are qualitatively different from country to country. this idea has profound implications for how international education research is interpreted.