Writing and Mathematics WT: In recent years, these has been an increased emphasis on integrating writing with other disciplines. As a math educator, do you think there is place for writing in math class? Burns: Absolutely! The movement in education for “writing across the cur- riculum” calls for writing © be integral toteaching all subjects. This movement is not a newcomer to education; progress has been slow, especially in the area of mathematics. Math is gen- erally seen as a subject that communi- cates through the manipulation of symbols in orderly ways, rather than a subject that uses words to express ideas. To many people, mathematics and writing seem like oil and water, with little in common. This discrepancy is unfortunate—and misleading, The process of writing requires gathering, organizing, and clarifying thoughts. it demands finding out what you know and don’t know. It calls for thinking clearly. Doing mathematics also depends on gathering, organiz- ing, and clarifying thoughts, finding vut what you know and don’t know, anid thinking clearly. Though the final representation of a mathematical pur- An interview with Marilyn Burns suit looks very different from the fi- nal product of a writing effort, the mental journey is, at its base, the same—making sense of an idea and presenting it effectively. In Writing to Learn, William Zinsser says, “Writing is how we think our way into the subject and make it our own.” I agree. I believe that mak- ing writing part of learning mathemat- ics can help students understand ideas that often seem complex and abstract, and help students bring meaning to mathematical concepts and skills. WT: What are the benefits of inte- grating writing with math? Burns: I'm not suggesting that writ- ing is the “new” answer for improving the teaching of mathematics. Teaching math—or any subject— effectively is too complex for a one-dimensional approach. But writing ean assist math instruction in two ways—by helping children learn to understand mathemat- ics and by helping teachers assess what children are learning. WT: How does writing help students learn math? Burns: Incorporating writing into the ‘math class adds another dimension to learning by doing. When children ‘write about math, they are actively involved in thinking about math. Writing encourages them to examine their ideas and reflect on what they have done. They have to clarify their ‘thoughts in order to put them on paper. From the process of writing, students’ understandings are deepened and ex- tered. They are doing and learning mathematics WT: How does writing relate to assessment? Burns: Math assessments should have the goal of evaluating students’ abilities to use mathematical ideas in problem situations thoughtfully and effectively. Beyond asking chil- dren to produce answers to prob- lems, written assignments should require that students explain their thinking and reasoning processes. Assessments are no different in quality from learning activities, ex- cept perhaps that the teacher knows the particular purpose of the assign- ment is for assessment, wv (WHITING TEACKER - MARCH. 1995 3Looking at the results of assess- ment assignments can help teachers in two ways. First, they’re useful for evaluating whether the instructional program is serving the learning goals. ‘What did the students draw from their class experiences? Are they making use of what they studied in class? In general, was the reasoning strong, adequate, or weak? Were there no- ticeable gaps in understanding or in- formation? These sorts of questions focus on the general effectiveness of instructional choices and can give teachers direction for planning activi ties that best support learning. As- sessment results can help teachers change, refine, and enhance their teaching repertoires. Assessment results are also key for learning about individual students? understandings and skills. Partial un- derstanding and confusion ate natural to the process of leaming and stu- dents need ample experiences to de- velop mathematical understandings. Assessments can provide valuable clues to the kinds of experiences that right be of benefit to particular indi- viduals, not with the goal of fixing or remediating studems, but in the spirit of providing additional changes for them to make sense of mathematics for themselves. WT: How do students usually respond to writing in math class? Burns: Let me answer that by sharing some personal experiences. Early in my experience with writing in math class, Matt—a fifth grader frustrated with @ writing assignment in math period—blurted out, "Why do we have to write, anyway?” His question sur- prised me into attention, The raised heads of his classmates indicated that he had their attention as well. , “That's an important question,” I responded. “Let me tell you why I ask ‘you to write.” My mind was swirling, but I realized my own thoughts about the reasons for writing had not jelled. I felt it was importam ta respond, but ‘wasn’t ready to be coherent and con- vincing. I remember saying something like, “When I went to college, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. In my sophomore year, I decided to become a math teacher. This wasn’t because I liked math best; there were other subjects that interested me as well, but I didn’t enjoy writing. While as- signments in most classes required writing papers, math assignments re~ quired only doing problems.” T could tell this rambling wasn't very enlightening or interesting to Matt or the others. But I was searching and pressed on, feeling somewhat confes- sional. “Advanced math courses got increasingly harder for me. 1 was able to write formulas with fancy math- ematical symbols, but I didn’t always understand what I was doing. More and more, [relied on figuring out how to solve problems by following ex- amples in the textbooks. Often, I didn’t understand why the examples made sense. My teachers cou\dn’t tell from my homework what I was thinking. They could only see the math symbols I wrote on my paper, not the confu- sion in my mind, I've come to lea as a teacher that when you hand in assignments, Ineed to understand what ‘you're thinking. Otherwise you could be in the same pickle as'f had been— not understanding-and I might never know. So [ ask you to write so I can learn about your thinking.” My answer wasn’t particularly sat- isfying to the students. I'd seen that glaze on their eyes before, Nor was my answer satisfying to me, It served the purpose of getting the students back to work, but 1 was disturbed. ‘Two years later I was questioned again by a third-grade student, Gabe. “Idon’t want to write,” he announced when I gave an assignment. I was surprised and challenged by this, but this time my response flowed in a way that didn’t reek of the searching and apolo- getic tone I felt with Matt. I felt stron- ‘ger, clearer, and better prepared. “Let me tell you why I ask you to write. My job is t0 help you un- derstand math. To do my job, I need to know what you do understand and what you don’t understand. I some- times wish I could just take the top off your head and look inside and say, ‘Oh, so that’s what Gabe is thinking.” But I can’t do that. So I ask you to write to explain what you're thinking. When I read what yos write, I learn about what you understand? Gabe was satisfied with my re- sponse. So was I. Also, I teamed another lesson from this experience. I was reminded that it’s important for students to understand what they're being asked to do in class. They need to hear why I feel it’s important to make writing a part of their math assignments. Gabe might still raise his question even after I give a clear explanation of the is- portance of writing in math class. ‘That's okay. He has a right to ask as many times as he wonders about it. I welcome the question. It gives me the opportunity to talk about what I value with the students. It gives me a reason to reinforce what I’ve told them, to present my thoughts in a new light, help them understand, and give them encouragement. ‘As my confidente and convic- tion have grown, I've come to the practice of raising the issue with classes rather than waiting for them to do so, Too often, we hold our rationale for what we do in the class- room as a tightly held secret. The students aren’t given access to the information. This won't do. We as teachers must clarify the reasons for our instructional choices and find ways to communicate them so stu- dents are informed and motivated. WT: If a teacher wanted to use writ- ing as a teaching tool in math class. for the first time, what suggestions would you offer? Where is a good place to start? 4 WastinG TEACHER - MARCH. 1998 aBurns: I think that teachers first have to look at their goals for math in- struction. In March, 1989, the Na- tional Council of Teachers of Mathematics published the Curricu- lum and Evaluation Standards for ‘School Mathematics. The document presents five general goals for all students: 1) that they learn to value mathematics, 2) that they become confident in their ability to do math- ematics, 3) that they become math- ematical problem solvers, 4) that they lear to communicate mathematically, and 5) that they learn to reason math- ematically. Teachers need to find ways to implement these goals in their classroom instruction Traditionally, the primary goal for elementary mathematics has been a narrow one—to develop children’s arithmetic competency. Students too often spend the bulk of their instruc- tional time in math class learning arithmetic procedures and practicing them on worksheets or textbook pages. Word problems are the usual vehicle for applying these skills, presenting situations that students translate into arithmetic sentences and then do the computation needed. The emphasis has usually been on getting right an- swers; the teacher or answer key usu- ally is the source for judging whether answers are correct. Also missing from traditional in- struction is the opportunity to involve children in the richness of what math ematics has to offer. Mathematics is more than arithmetic. The study of mathematics, even for young children, should encompass all strands of the math curriculum—geometry, mea- surement, functions, probability, sta- tistics, logical reasoning, algebra, as well as number. First, writing assignments should be linked to activities that reflect the kind of math learning recommended by the NCTM Standards, where stu- dents are asked to explain their think- ing and reasoning processes. For example, teachers might introduce a “Writing is a tool for children to use to explore mathematics and make sense of mathematics ideas and relationships.” class to a manipulative material— Pattern Blocks or Cuisenaire Rods, for example—and, after having, students explore and talk about them, ask them to write down all that they noticed about them. Or teachers might present children with a problem situation and direct them not only to give the an- swer, but also write something that would convince someone else that their solution makes sense. Children can then share their solutions and compare their approaches. Or teach- ers can ask students to write a paper such as “What I Know About Divi- sion” or about any other topic that is appropriate. In all cases, having discussions with students before a writing assign- ment helps prepare them. Talking is easier for children than writing, and verbalizing their ideas and hearing the ideas of others helps students think about ways to explain their own ideas. Also, it helps some students to have a prompt, and writing a suggestion on the board such as “I think the answer is = Tthink this because "may help some students begin writing WT: What cautions or closing com- ments do you have for our readers? Burns: Start tomorrow. Chances are the first writing assignments. won't be as successful as you'd like. The sooner you get started, the sooner you'll see. progress. It's a matter of taking the plunge. ‘There's a children’s book about an alligator who felt very sad. His mother was constantly telling him to use his head, and he couldn’t imagine what she meant He thought and thought, harder, longer, and just got more and more depressed. Finally he had an idea, He could use his head to dig a hole in the sand. Then he had another. He could use it to flatten ant hills. He thought of all sorts of ways to use his head that greatly surprised his mother. Be prepared for surprises. Try not tohave in mind answers or preconceived notions about responses to writing as- signments. Instead, be curious about your students’ thinking, open to their perspectives about how they see situa- tions and how they approach problems. Writing is a tool for children to use to explore mathematics and make sense of mathematics ideas and rela- tionships. Writing gives children chances to tell what’s on their minds. It gives you opportunities to examine their reasoning processes, to find out what they know and what they don’t know. As you work to cover the math curriculum in your class, think about writing as a way for children to un- cover the curriculum for themselves. © 1995 Marilyn Burns Marilyn Burns is the creator of the Math Solutions inservice courses, and the ‘author of numerous books for children (Including The | Hate Mathematics! Book and The Book of Think) and teachers. Her book Writing in the Math Class will be available September, 1995 from Cuisenaire Company of America (800- 237-3142). 5 wes ‘WRITING TEACHER -MARCH.I9%5 5