Mathematics Classroom Discourse Research Articles

What Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of The Integration of Educational Drama in Mathematics Instruction: A Mixed-Methods Study

This research aimed to explore mathematics teachers' perspectives on the integration of educational drama in mathematics instruction, specifically focusing on mathematical knowledge, classroom discourse and affective aspects. Using a mixed-methods approach and a sequential explanatory design, the study first employed a quantitative phase, applying a scale to gauge teachers’ views on incorporating educational drama into mathematics instruction. The questionnaire covered three key dimensions: the advancement of mathematical knowledge, facilitation of classroom discourse, and emotional elements. The framework was developed based on established theoretical models. Following this, interview protocols were designed, based on the quantitative outcomes, to explore the insights provided in greater depth. The results indicated a predominantly positive reception among mathematics educators for the use of drama in mathematics education, with consistent agreement observed across all aspects of the scale. The mean scores for the development of mathematical knowledge, classroom dialogue and emotional dimensions were notably high, reflecting substantial alignment among the participants. Qualitative analysis of the teacher interviews highlighted the beneficial aspects of employing drama in mathematics education. The teachers noted the role of drama in reinforcing concepts, enhancing specific mathematical skills and positively affecting student engagement. However, concerns were raised regarding the potential for students' focus to be diverted from core mathematical content. In terms of classroom discourse and emotional development, drama was acknowledged for its role in fostering interactive exchanges, refining students’ speaking abilities, and nurturing self-confidence and motivation. Nonetheless, there were caveats concerning the suitability of drama for all student cohorts, pointing to the need for tailored approaches.

수학교실담론에 나타난 실시간 쌍방향 수업의 요소별 양상 분석: 권위 개념을 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to explore how the elements of synchronous online learning emerge in mathematics classroom discourse through an authority lens. To this end, we analyzed synchronous online learning classes for 5th to 6th graders. Elements of synchronous online learning were divided into delivery system, interaction, content, and learners; and data modeling tasks were implemented. Findings indicate that the delivery system has both potential and risk for sharing authority in mathematics classroom discourses, and four types of interactions are formed (or not formed) in a differentiated manner, respectively. In addition, mathematics classroom discourses, such as providing teacher feedback and encouraging students supported students’ shared authority. Further, the content element combined with other elements, was found to influence sharing authority. These findings reveal some aspects that teachers should consider in designing and implementing synchronous online learning for shared authority.

The Impact of Technology Artifacts on Mathematics Classroom Discourse

The Impact of Technology Artifacts on Mathematics Classroom Discourse

Visualization- and analytics-supported video-based professional development for promoting mathematics classroom discourse

Although classroom discourse that positions students as active participants benefits both their learning and cognitive development, teachers often find it challenging to implement dialogic instructions in the classroom. This study reports on a video-based teacher professional development (PD) program that leverages visualizations and analytics in supporting teacher change in whole-class dialogue in mathematics classrooms. Both experimental and comparison teachers (n = 24 and 22, respectively) were provided with information on dialogic instructions, and experimental teachers used the Classroom Discourse Analyzer to reflect on videos of their lessons and their peers' lessons in a year-long PD program. The intervention teachers significantly moved toward less dominant classroom talk—they reduced the number of words spoken per lesson, and their students significantly increased the number of words per turn in whole-class discussions, relative to the comparison teachers. Furthermore, analysis of the classroom discourse shows qualitative changes in the intervention teachers' discourse. PD workshop and teacher self-reflection data are analyzed to examine how visualizations and analytics in the PD program may serve as a cross-boundary object to support peer collaboration in reflective practice, and to increase teachers' awareness of their teaching development.

Responsiveness and intellectual work: Features of mathematics classroom discourse related to student achievement

ABSTRACT Background: This study considers the moment-by-moment mathematics discourse of teachers and students and the relationship of these discourses to student learning. I focus on the discursive constructs of responsiveness to students’ mathematical thinking and the intellectual work in teacher and student discourse. Responsiveness to students’ mathematical thinking is the extent to which one acknowledges, elicits, takes up, or builds on student thinking in-the-moment. Intellectual work reflects the cognitive work set in motion or performed by a speaker within a given turn of talk. Methods: I developed analytic frameworks that accounted for different levels of responsiveness and intellectual work during whole-class instruction in seventh-grade mathematics classrooms. These frameworks captured variation in responsiveness and intellectual work which was linked to student achievement using MLM. Findings: Analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between teachers’ responsiveness to student thinking and student learning. Additionally, the intellectual work requested by the teacher was related to the level of intellectual work students provided, acting as an upper bound on students’ mathematical activity. Contributions: The analytic frameworks developed for this study identified forms of responsiveness (High Exploring moves) that were most effective for student learning and specified the relationship between a teacher’s and her students’ levels of intellectual work.

“Shh!”: Shifting discourse patterns and techniques of surveillance in middle-school mathematics classrooms

The growing body of empirical studies on discourse in mathematics education have drawn on, broadly, sociocultural or situated views of learning but do not make issues of power central and/or explicit. For this reason, then, we situate the present analysis within the intersection of two bodies of literature: professional development focused on mathematics classroom discourse and Foucauldian analyses of power relations. In our poststructural analysis of a mathematics classroom, we interrogate the use of surveillance and its relation to meaningful mathematical discourse. Using Foucault’s techniques of surveillance and modalities of power, we analyze videos from one teacher-researcher’s (TR) classroom at two snapshots in time to answer the questions: What happens to a mathematics TR’s use of teacher discourse moves (TDMs) and surveillance practices across three years of doing action research on their classroom discourse? and How might we know whether these TDMs are doing ‘good’ things in the classrooms? Our findings show the complex ways that a TR’s work on classroom discourse is intertwined with modes of power and techniques of surveillance. First, we found that shushing and silencing, normalized as a part of teaching, decreases when a teacher positively values the use of (mathematical) language by students. This decrease in shushing and silencing details what we understand to be ‘the good’ and constitutes the primary finding of this study as we seek to expand what is understood by enhancing student language: an overall increase in language use by students and an overall increase in their use of mathematical language.

Designing and Validating a Coding Scheme for Analysis of Teacher Discourse Behaviours in Mathematics Classrooms

ABSTRACT This paper documents the process and outcome of the development and validation of a coding scheme to analyse mathematics classroom discourse in the context of Hong Kong primary schools. The objective of this coding scheme was to systematically analyse teacher discourse behaviours before and after an intervention programme; the programme aimed to assist in-service teachers to develop conceptual and practical tools for engaging students in dialogical discourse in mathematics classrooms. This paper provides a detailed outline of what took place in designing and refining the coding scheme as well as improving its validity and reliability. The developed coding scheme can be effective for highlighting dialogic discourse, authority structures and student participation in mathematics classrooms and beyond. Consequently, it was possible to assess the efficacy of the teacher intervention programme. On the other hand, the developed coding scheme could be used to help teachers to gain a sense of efficacy over their instruction by giving them a roadmap for what they can do before and during instruction.

Implementation and efficacy of a teacher intervention in dialogic mathematics classroom discourse in Hong Kong primary schools

The present study investigated the efficacy of an intervention program to assist teachers in the development of conceptual and practical tools for engaging students in dialogic classroom discourse. Sixteen fourth-grade mathematics teachers received 28 h of the intervention over a semester of 4 ½ months. Compared to the nonintervention group, the intervention teachers showed a reduced tendency to evaluate student responses and were more likely to promote students to engage with others’ ideas. Students of the intervention group responded to the teachers’ changes by demonstrating increased amount of contributions in classroom discussion. The results indicate that increasing awareness on dialogic classroom discourse provides an encouraging platform for teacher professional development to improve the quality of disciplinary teaching and learning.

Equitable Mathematics Classroom Discourse

In this article the author shares a self-study investigation into how the quality of talk and opportunities to participate are distributed across individual students based on race and gender in her college math class. Readers will learn how to conduct a similar investigation in their classroom. A discussion of ways to use the information gathered from equitable mathematics classroom discourse investigations will follow.

A joke on precision? Revisiting \u201cprecision\u201d in the school mathematics discourse

This paper discusses the place of precision in mathematics education by exploring its role in curricular guidelines and in classroom life. By means of a joke on precision delivered by a school student in South Sweden, our study focuses on student participation in mathematical tasks that require precision in processes of measuring and reasoning. The paper uses theories on humour and inferentialism to revisit the normative place of “precision” in mathematics classroom discourse.

Speaking or not speaking as a cultural practice: analysis of mathematics classroom discourse in Shanghai, Seoul, and Melbourne

The benefits of engaging students in mathematics classroom dialogue have been highlighted (and advocated) in a large body of research studies, most of which were conducted in Western cultural contexts. Whether such research advocacy can be extended legitimately to encompass practice in classrooms situated in other cultural contexts, such as East Asian classrooms, remains a matter for empirical investigation. In this paper, we problematize the assumptions underpinning this advocacy of “mathematical dialogue in classrooms” by revisiting several conceptualizations of the role of language in mathematics classrooms and by considering particular forms of communication in classrooms often undervalued in the research literature. To support such problematization, we draw upon an analysis of classroom discourse in nine classrooms situated in Shanghai, Seoul, and Melbourne from the Learner’s Perspective Study. The results of the analysis demonstrate some interesting variations in the extent to which the discursive practice of each classroom afforded or constrained the opportunities for students to speak mathematically, and its consequences for student learning as indicated by student mathematical fluency demonstrated in the post-lesson interviews. Such variations provide insight into the differences in inspirations and cultural values attached to particular types of mathematical performance. We argue that our theories should anticipate application in culturally differentiated settings and be sensitive to the constraints and affordance that culture might place on classroom discourse practices.

CLASSROOM INTERACTION WITH DIFFERENT SUBJECT BASED ON SINCLAIR AND COULTHARD MODEL

This study is analysis of classroom interaction between English and Mathematics subject which conducted by teachers and students through communication in classroom interaction. The aims of this study were: (a) To identify the kinds of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) pattern are used by the teacher and students in classroom interaction based on Sinclair and Coulthard Model (1975), and (b) To find out why the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) pattern is dominant in classroom interaction through different subject. The design of the research used qualitative research. To answer the problem of study, the data collected through the following instrument: observation, recording and interviewing which were analyzed by using Sinclair and Coulthard model and a concept of teaching. The results of this research were the following, (a) it was found that in English and Mathematics classroom discourse, as the IR (Initiation-Response) was used more often by teachers and I (Initiation) was used by students in English classroom then IF (Initiation-Feedback) was used by students in Mathematics classroom, (b) the reason why the IRF pattern dominantly appeared based on teacher’s performance which dominantly initiated questions and information was affected by the presage category and context category then the students’ performance which dominantly responded the teachers’ questions and information was affected by the students’ thought processes category.Key words: Classroom interaction, classroom discourse, Sinclair and Coulthard Model, IRF Pattern.

Teachers' Attitude Toward Mathematics Classroom Discourse In Secondary Schools In Kenya

This study was designed to investigate the teachers’ attitude towards classroom discourse and how their attitude is associated with their classroom instructional practices. Their attitude was characterized by their conceptions about the nature of mathematics and their views about classroom discourse in the face of current reforms in mathematics. Mixed method research design was adopted. The study was based on theoretical frameworks of Vygotsky (1978) and Bruner (1986). The study was conducted in secondary schools in Vihiga County, Kenya. Proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the sample. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedule and classroom observation checklist. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The results of this study show that teachers in the control set ups tend to hold strong conceptions about mathematics that are consistent with the instrumental view. Their conceptions were not in line with the recommended reform approaches and have both desirable and undesirable consequences in the way teachers teach in the classroom. In view of the findings, it was recommended that in-order to gradually challenge the teachers’ negative conceptions about mathematical classroom discourse, adequate educational interventions should be planned and implemented in teacher education programmes to support the teachers in concretizing these conceptions.

Equity Analytics: A Methodological Approach for Quantifying Participation Patterns in Mathematics Classroom Discourse

Equity in mathematics classroom discourse is a pressing concern, but analyzing issues of equity using observational tools remains a challenge. In this article, we propose equity analytics as a quantitative approach to analyzing aspects of equity and inequity in classrooms. We introduce a classroom observation tool that focuses on relatively low-inference dimensions of classroom discourse, which are cross-tabulated with demographic markers (e.g., gender, race) to identify patterns of more and less equitable participation within and across lessons. We argue that equity analytics can support researchers and practitioners in identifying subtle patterns of inequity in classroom discourse. As we show, even in classrooms with highly experienced, equityminded teachers, subtle inequities can emerge that are detectable through this quantitative methodology. To conclude, we discuss how equity analytics can complement qualitative approaches in the study of equity and inequity in classrooms.

Dispute in mathematical classroom discourse − “No go” or chance for fundamental learning?

Disputed points in school mathematical discourse are rarely discussed. If mathematics is seen as a “ready-made” discipline which teaches dealing with right and wrong only, mathematical questions which require debating do not play an essential role. Looking at the real teaching practice shows indeed quite a different picture: Mathematical questions which require debate and justifications appear in the course of mathematical interaction in different places and are dealt with in different intensity. In this article we present small group discussions within the project Probing and Evaluating Focusing Interaction Strategies in Elementary Mathematics Teaching (ProFIT). The discourse is based on disputed points which turned out to be a promising way of supporting mathematical oriented discussions, a deeper understanding of ambiguous learning situations and the chances for fundamental learning.

Techno-Mathematical Discourse: A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Classroom Discussions

Extensive research has been published on the nature of classroom mathematical discourse and on the impact of technology tools, such as virtual manipulatives (VM), on students’ learning, while less research has focused on how technology tools facilitate that mathematical discourse. This paper presents an emerging construct, the Techno-Mathematical Discourse (TMD) framework, as a means for analyzing and interpreting aspects of learning when students use technological representations to mediate mathematical discussions. The framework focuses on three main components: classroom discourse, technology tools, and mathematical tasks. This paper examines each of these components, and then illustrates the framework using examples of students’ exchanges while interacting with virtual manipulatives. The TMD Framework has applications relevant to teachers, teacher educators, and researchers concerning how technology tools contribute to discourse in mathematics classrooms. The TMD framework addresses a critical issue in mathematics education, in that classroom teachers and researchers need to understand how technology facilitates classroom interactions and how to best leverage technology tools to enhance students’ learning of mathematics.

Research protocol: Teacher interventions aimed at engaging students in dialogic mathematics classroom discourse

• Evaluation of a teacher intervention program using quasi-experimental design. • Intervention to facilitate math teachers’ engagement of students in classroom discourse. • The intervention of up to 28 h spaced over one semester. • The study involves 32 fourth-grade mathematics teaches in Hong Kong. • Measures of teacher change administered to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention.

The Effect of Eliciting Repair of Mathematics Explanations of Students With Learning Disabilities

Mathematical reasoning is important in conceptual understanding and problem solving. In current reform-based, discourse-oriented mathematics classrooms, students with learning disabilities (LD) encounter challenges articulating or explaining their reasoning processes. Enlightened by the concept of conversational repair borrowed from the field of linguistics, this study designed an intervention program to facilitate mathematical reasoning of students with LD. Conversational repair, an ability to repair communicative breakdowns or inaccuracies, was designed in an implicit–explicit continuum to elicit self-explanation from students with LD in the context of mathematics word problem solving. Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, the study found that the intervention was effective for improving students’ mathematical reasoning and problem-solving ability measured by their self-explanation and word problem–solving performance. It provided implications for future studies concerning the use of conversational repair in mathematics classroom discourse for individuals with LD.

Fostering a Culture of Discourse in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms: Equity Approaches in Teaching and Teacher Education for Emergent Bilingual Students

The continued proliferation of linguistic diversity in US mainstream classrooms, coupled with the language demands of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics instruction (CCSSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles to Actions (PtA), has prompted educational researchers to identify effective, linguistically relevant practices for preparing secondary mathematics educators adept at meeting the needs of emergent bilingual students. In this article we argue for implementation of teacher education courses in mathematics that infuse “pedagogical language knowledge” as a tool for providing future teachers the skills and dispositions to foster a “classroom culture of discourse.” This call come in light of the discipline-specific language demands of the above-mentioned standards and secondary students’ use of variable linguistic repertoires across and within languages to learn and display mathematical thinking and ideas.

Investigating teachers’ appraisal of unexpected moments and underlying values: an exploratory case in the context of changing mathematics classroom discourse

This article provides an exploratory case study that examines what one teacher indicated as unexpected as she worked to become more purposeful about her classroom discourse practices. We found that she highlighted three areas as being unexpected: (1) aspects of lesson enactment; (2) characteristics of student learning and (3) her own intentionality or purposefulness. We interpret these instances through the lens of the systemic functional linguistics (SFL) appraisal framework in order to understand how she evaluates the instances she highlights and connect these instances to the literature on values in the teaching and learning of mathematics.