Article 08 Mathematical Communication in the Classroom: A Teacher Makes a Difference

8 Mathematical Communication in the Classroom: A Teacher Makes a Difference

(article)
 
Bessie Davis Cooke and Dilek Buchholz (2005)
Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 32, No. 6, June 2005

Couldn't find a free version of this, but there is a link in ERIC. (31.03.2010)

On with my hunt for ideas on language and Maths...

This is a very readable account of observation of pre-school maths classes and description of techniques for interaction between the teacher and learners for developing learner oral skills in maths. Specifically, the conclusion is that the teacher acts as interface between the learner and the subject facilitating learner production in a number of ways:

- providing opportunities for informal self-expression

- acting as facilitator while learners are busy on task

- providing opportunities for students to connect new understandings to prior knowledge

- linking classroom management activities and routines with maths

- asking a variety of questions

- encouraging the use of appropriate terms

I enjoyed reading this, straightforward, immediately useable ideas and completely relevant to classroom practice.