Numeracy and the Literacy Dilemma in Mathematics

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Numeracy and the Literacy Dilemma in Mathematics

• Robyn Anderson Senior Education Officer
  Mathematics DETA
• Robyn.anderson_at_deta.qld.gov.au

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A teaching strategy

• Quadrants

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• The group have 8 small flags and need to make
  poles for each flag. They have a 5 metre piece of
  wood. How long will each pole be?

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What is language of Mathematics?

• Unique vocabulary
• Confusing terms
• Code switching
• Double decoding
• Mysterious symbols

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• Find x.

Here tis
x
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• Objects and processes
• Learned almost entirely at school
• Formal and informal expressions

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• 2C D

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Words

• Mathematics vocabulary maybe confusing because
  words mean different things in maths and
  non-maths contexts
• Two different words sound the same
• More than one word is used to describe the same
  concept
• Sheer volume of maths related vocabulary

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Symbols

• May be confusing because they look alike
• Different representations may be used to describe
  the same process

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Graphics

• representations may be confusing because of
  formatting variations
• or because the graphics are not read in the same
  direction

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Reflection questions

• 1.Children can learn to speak this mathematical
  language but are they mathematically literate ?
• 2. How does this literacy impact on their
  capacity to be numerate?
• 3. Does the language of mathematics help students
  learning for numeracy?

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Reading

• What skills are needed to specifically read in
  mathematics class?
• Teachers model their thinking out loud as they
  read and figure out what the problem is asking
  them to do
• Promoting discussion with student and between
  students about any difficulties they are having
  understanding a problem
• Read interpret mathematical sentences
  equations and inequalities

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How does maths text differ from text in other
subjects?

• Mathematics text contain more concepts per
  sentence and paragraph than any other type of
  text
• They are written in a very compact style-each
  sentence contains a lot of information, with
  little redundancy.
• The text can contain words as well as numeric and
  non numeric symbols to decode.
• A page may be laid out such that the eye must
  travel in a different pattern from traditional l
  to r of reading

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And there is more

• There may be graphics that need to be understood
  for the text to make sense
• There may be graphics that distract from
  understanding
• Often there are side bars containing prose and/or
  pictures both related and unrelated to the main
  topic.
• Plus Reviews extra skills practice a little
  vignette from an almanac a historical fact or a
  connection to some other culture!

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Maths problems

• Girl The day before yesterday I was 12.
  Boy But next year youll be 15.
• Believe it or not these two people are
  speaking the truth. On which day of which month
  was the girl born?

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Other Reading tips

• Technical jargon? Hypotenuse, integer, rhombus
• Same Words with different meanings
• Does add always mean increase?
• Small words
• Asking students to read aloud
• Attention of someone else listening often helps
  students focus

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Discourse

• Traditional
• Probing
• Discourse rich

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Discourse

• Passive to active learner
• Questions framework
• Students do learn better when actively involved.

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• How does the language of mathematics help
  teacher professional knowledge of teaching for
  numeracy?

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What is the role of writing in maths?

• In trying to express our thoughts does it slow
  down and focus our thinking?
• Does it allow the page to become a holding place
  for our thoughts until we can build on them?
• What type of writing do we see in maths?

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What is the role of writing in maths?

• Written explanations in mathematics are about
  what is being done and why it works.
• Writing encourages students to become engaged in
  their learning

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Assessment

• A Problem

• Based on this pattern, how many white tiles would
  be needed for 4 pattern tiles?
• Based on this pattern, how many white tiles would
  be needed for 50 pattern tiles?
• Make a scatter plot of the first five figures in
  this pattern showing the relationship between the
  number of white tiles and the number of pattern
  tiles. Be sure to label the axes.
• Based on this pattern, explain how you could find
  the number of white tiles needed for any number,
  n, of pattern tiles. Show and explain your work.

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• Writing in mathematics classes has dual
  benefits
• they communicate to learn mathematics, they
  learn to communicate mathematically. NCTM 2000

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Content and processes

• When do we expect students to understand the
  discrepancies in language of maths?
• How do we assess this?

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• It is important to give students experiences to
  help them appreciate the power and precision of
  mathematical language

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Key principles

• The fundamental role of language in teaching and
  learning mathematics
• A view of numeracy/literacy as a set of social
  and cultural practices
• The value of explicit teaching about language in
  mathematics
• Teachers and students have a shared meta
  language- a language for talking about mathematics

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Key principles

• The importance of scaffolding students
  mathematics curriculum literacy for numeracy
  development
• The value of using linguistic criteria as part of
  assessment and reporting
• The importance of teachers across the school
  having a shared understanding of numeracy and
  literacy development in mathematics.