Keywords

mathematics, elementary students, writing, discourse, discussion, constructivism, conceptual understanding

Abstract

For this action research project, I wanted to examine my practice of teaching mathematics. Specifically, I encouraged students to improve their communication skills during my math class through daily discussion and writing tasks. After establishing a class set of sociomathematical norms, the students solved problems provided by the Every Day Counts: Calendar Math program and used verbal and written formats to describe their problem solving methods and reasons. My study showed the effects of using discussion and writing to help students develop their conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas. Focus was placed on the quality of daily discussions and written tasks both at the beginning of the study and continually as the study progressed. Through daily discussions, monthly written assessments, and student interviews, the study helped to determine the importance of developing students' mathematical communication skills and building conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Ortiz, Enrique

Degree

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

College

College of Education

Department

Teaching and Learning Principles

Degree Program

K-8 Mathematics and Science Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002026

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002026

Language

English

Release Date

June 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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