Monograph No. 10: Communication, Communication, Communication, Communication in the MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM

Communication, Communication, Communication, Communication in the MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM

October 1992

Publication of the Mathematics Council of The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Foreword

This monograph has been two years in the making. When it was first suggested in Spring 1990, the NCTM publication Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics had just been released. In that document, “Mathematics as Communication” was listed as the second of four standards to serve from K-12. At the “Thinker’s Conference” in Red Deer, the MCATA executive approved a monograph focusing on this standard.

The monograph brings together two approaches to communication in the classroom which can be identified in the following questions:

1. What can I do in my classroom?
2. How can I understand what I’m doing?

These two questions are drawn together in a final section called:

3. What kind of teaching can I practice?

If enhancing mathematics learning through communication sounds promising, I am sure you will find many excellent suggestions from Yvonne Pothier, Barbara J. Morrison, Susan Burgoyne and Marilyn Burgoyne in the first three chapters.

If you also hope to further your own understanding of the role of communication in the learning of mathematics, then I am sure the works of Laurie Walker and David Pimm in chapters 5 and 6 will trigger many thought-provoking ideas. I have included my thoughts and reflections in chapters 4 and 7.

I have prefaced each chapter with a short overview/commentary to provide further insight and/or background information. The overviews are set apart in italics.

Happy reading.

Daiyo Sawada

1 – 2

Front Matter

Foreword

Daiyo Sawada

Part I: What Can I Do in My Classroom?

7 – 13

Chapter 1 – Writing to Communicate Mathematics

Yvonne Pothier

14 – 22

Chapter 2 – The Role of Communication in Mathematics