Abstract
Complexity thinking provides a unique perspective on classroom interactions, student engagement and classroom management as well as insight into innovative pedagogies for teachers in the elementary mathematics classroom. A novel meeting strategy for classroom organization offers teachers the opportunity to observe complexity in action and to promote student participation through mathematical conversations thereby building the learning community and fostering the discourse of mathematics. The intervention of mathematical conversations created conditions for complexity in an elementary classroom and provided qualitative data for analysis. Transcripts and classroom mapping showed increased student engagement with students afforded more freedom, mobility and choice to host or participate in small-group conversations. An analytic framework indicated three types of conversations emerging: sharing information, building knowledge and exploring possibilities as well as instances of blocking behavior. Findings suggest possibilities for building student capacity for conversation skills, disciplinary integration and differentiating learning significantly for students.
Highlights
That chaos and complexity theories are being used to interpret classroom and the human dynamics of teaching and learning suggests fidelity of these theories for significantly changing the way we come to know and shape our world. (Fleener, 2009)William Doll’s book, A Post-modern perspective on curriculum (1993) challenged traditional approaches to curriculum development and classroom instruction and opened the door for educators to re-examine their practice in light of complexity (Davis, Smith & Leflore, 2008; Davis & Sumara, 2006; Doll, 2012; Fleener, 2002; Kieren, 2003)
Open Space Technology (OST) changed the nature of the work in the mathematics classroom and prompted students to take up the role of mathematicians, making and finding patterns rather than calculating answers to textbook problems
I brought OST to an elementary mathematics classroom in order to observe how this meeting methodology might promote student participation to build a learning community that fosters the discourse of mathematics
Summary
That chaos and complexity theories are being used to interpret classroom and the human dynamics of teaching and learning suggests fidelity of these theories for significantly changing the way we come to know and shape our world. (Fleener, 2009). In what has become a classic of complexity thinking literature, Doll laid down a theoretical foundation for understanding the principles of chaos and complexity in teaching and learning His earlier research study (1989) in a middle school mathematics classroom introduced complexity thinking to educators with a teacher’s perspective on a complex system in action. OST, which I describe in full detail below, evolved as Owen introduced circle conversations to groups looking to self-organize pragmatically around common issues He described OST, first, as a Journal of Education and Training Studies. Vol 9, No 3; March 2021 means of increasing meaningful communication and, second, as a way to build on existing networks within an organization He described OST as complexity thinking in action (2000). I conclude with a summary of findings and implications from the research study to make this methodology accessible to teachers and researchers who wish to join the conversation around complexity thinking in education
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