MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE PRACTICES

IN FIRST GRADE CLASROOMS

Dissertation Proposal SummaryMinnah J. Sabree

Constant, fast-paced change with an increased reliance on mathematics is the hallmark of today’s society in the 21st

century. Mathematics represents the M in STEM-Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In our ever-expanding global economy, where innovation and technology thrive, STEM related jobs are proliferating and STEM graduates are in demand.

More and more, everyday life, as well as our place in the world’s economy, requires the understanding, use and communication of mathematics (NCTM, 2000, p. 4).

U.S. students lag behind other major countries in mathematics performance. On the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011, the U.S. was significantly outperformed by countries such as Singapore, Korea, Japan, and China (Provasnik, et. al., 2012).

Statement of the Problem

Language is the driving force behind the comprehension and communication of concepts.

Research has shown that young children’s early vocabulary knowledge and language skills are strong predictors of their reading ability and reading comprehension in later years.

Language is as important to mathematics as it is to learning to read and to all other content areas.

Statement of the Problem:Language/Vocabulary Comprehension Connection

Everyday Language- Teacher: "A plane is a perfectly flat surface." Student: “I thought a plane was something that flies.”(Rubenstein &Thompson, 2002) Polysemous words-more than one meaning (plane, yard,

table) Homonymns (row/row) and homophones (cent/sent/scent)

Technical Language-Words specific to the domain which have precise meanings (circumference)

Phrases and symbols Decrease confusion, increase comprehension-teach the

meanings of the words

Statement of the Problem Continued:Mathematics Vocabulary

Teachers are at the forefront of educating children.

Are we teaching children the vocabulary necessary to be successful in mathematics?

Are best practices being utilized?

Statement of the Problem Continued:Who? How? If?

The current state of mathematics vocabulary instruction as it is instantiated in classrooms is unknown.

The main purpose of this dissertation is to ascertain the extent to which mathematics vocabulary instruction occurs in the primary classroom.

Purpose of the Study

1. What are the instructional practices used by Grade 1 teachers when teaching mathematics vocabulary?

2. In what contexts does mathematics vocabulary instruction occur in Grade 1 classrooms?

3. How often does mathematics vocabulary instruction occur and how many words are taught in Grade 1 classrooms?

4. How do the instructional practices Grade 1 teachers use to teach mathematics vocabulary compare to those suggested in the teacher’s guide of the school’s mathematics program?

5. What are teachers' professional opinions about teaching mathematics vocabulary?

Research Questions

Schema represents the background knowledge we have stored in memory and are created through repeated exposure to events, ideas or objects. The repeated exposures promote general concepts about the experience and an organized network of information is created.

The various sets of background knowledge that we have are identified or labeled by the words we know and the connections between words. It may take many related words to organize a knowledge set. But even just one word can activate an entire schema into working memory.

Complete concept formation requires many experiences and examples that represent the concept. The more words we have to explain a concept, the more thorough our knowledge of the concept will be, and the more elaborate our associated schema will be.

Theoretical Rationale - Schema Theory

Case Study Research-Ideally 4 Grade 1 teachers 6 week timeframe Observations of Mathematics Vocabulary Instruction

– seven observations per teacher Instruments

Observation Protocol Teacher Background Questionnaire Interview Protocol

Data Analysis A Priori Coding Inductive Coding Descriptive Statistics

Methodology

Research Question Data Source How the data will help answer the research question

Data Analysis

1. What are the instructional practices used by Grade 1 teachers when teaching mathematics vocabulary?

Observations 

Firsthand look into actual instructional practices 

A Priori CodingInductive Coding

Protocols and Transcripts 

Descriptive details of events and participant speech/Raw data for coding and analysis

Interviews Firsthand account of practices

2. In what contexts does mathematics vocabulary instruction occur in Grade 1 classrooms?

Observations 

Insights into various contexts and activities during which instruction occurs

A Priori CodingInductive Coding

Protocols and Transcripts Descriptive details of events/Raw data for coding and analysis

3. How often does mathematics vocabulary instruction occur and how many words are taught in Grade 1 classrooms?

Observations 

Insights into how often vocabulary instruction takes place

A Priori Coding Inductive CodingDescriptive Statistics

Protocols and Transcripts Descriptive details of time spent on instruction; words taught/Raw data for coding and analysis

4. How do the methods Grade 1 teachers use to teach mathematics vocabulary compare to those suggested in the teacher’s guide of the school’s mathematics program?

Observations 

Firsthand look into actual instructional practices 

A Priori Coding Inductive Coding

Protocols and Transcripts 

Descriptive details of methods used/Raw data for coding and analysis

Interviews 

Firsthand account of practices used compared to those in guide

Mathematics Teacher’s Guide  Outlines suggested vocabulary activities

5. What are teachers' professional opinions about teaching mathematics vocabulary?

Interviews Teachers discuss and describe their practices, and their opinions about teaching math vocabulary

Inductive Coding Protocols and Transcripts Firsthand account of teachers’ opinions

Methodology ChartMathematics Language Practices in First Grade Classrooms

NCTM (2000). Principles & standards for school mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.nctm.org

Provasnik, S., Kastberg, D, Ferraro, D., Lemanski, N., Roey, S., & Jenkins, F. (2012). Highlights from TIMSS 2011: Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. fourth-and eighth grade students in an international context (NCES 2013-009 Revised). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2013009rev

Rubenstein, R. N. & Thompson, D. R. (2002). Understanding and support children’s mathematical vocabulary development. Teaching Children Mathematics, 9 (2), 107-112. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/

214140315accountid=10932

References