Hibernia College_PMEP Pedagogy 2B DigTec_ Spring22_TEMPLATE

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Artefact 3a 2–9
References 10 - 12

Artefact 3b Text

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Artefact 3a: Text (Academic Essay)

Discuss and critically analyze the place of talk and discussion as a

methodology in the primary mathematics lesson with particular reference to
teaching pedagogy, the learning process and pupil experience in classroom
settings.

(Word Count – 1903 words)

“Math consists of proving the most obvious thing in the least obvious way.”
(George Pólya).

Math’s lessons are not “defined in terms of speed and a

perception that ‘you can either do it or you can’t’“ (Solomon & Black, 2008,
p.4). Mathematics is not only about being able to give the correct answer
quickly or finding the easiest way to figure out the answer. Schoenfield (1992)
discusses how “math’s problems have one and only one right answer” and that
“mathematics is a solitary activity, done by individuals in isolation” (p.359).
These opinions are based on the "talk and chalk" method that was once
employed to teach mathematics to students over forty years ago.

Now, one will explore several research papers regarding the

"successful implementation of mathematics education reform" by authors like
Cobb (1999), Mercer & Wegerif (1999a & 1999b), Barnes (1976), Davis et al
(2015 to name but a few to focus on a theoretical framework of development
of a math-talk learning community (Ackles et al, 2004, p.81). "Mathematics
education reform has sought to ‘promote meaningful learning’" (Nathan and
Knuth, 2003, p.175) by providing possibilities for exploratory discussion.

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The constructivist approach to teaching mathematics will be

analyzed and discussed, with a focus on the classroom community's
participation to students' learning, the pedagogical method of ‘The Community
of Inquiry’, a dialogic pedagogical approach, and how students create and
construct their own knowledge through discussion in math lessons and their
experiences of learning.

According to Cobb, Yackel, & Wood (1993) and Michaels &

O’Connor (2015), “discourse communities in mathematics classrooms are a
critical foundation for supporting and developing student learning (Murata et
al, 2017, p.291). In these communities, students can carefully consider
mathematical ideas, articulate their ideas clearly, ask questions, pay close
attention to other people's ideas, and feel comfortable participating as active
learners. Godfrey & O’Connor, (1995) notes that “studies found how a certain
combination of talk moves can help deepen student math learning (Murata et
al, 2017, p 290).

Murata et al, (2017) explains that “math talk plays a critical role in
promoting the kind of learning and thinking valued by many current reform
initiatives” (p.291). According to Ball, Cobb & Bauersfeld, 1993), students can
think more deeply about arithmetic by conversing with others about it and
listening to what others have to say. They can also practice mathematical skills
like assessing arguments, reasoning through them, and recognizing and
describing patterns.

Some researchers in the math-talk community have explored how

teachers and students engage with one other during math talks and what

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effects this has. According to Krussel, Springer, and Edwards (2004), "each
teacher talk move has a goal, setting, form, and consequences" (Murata et al,
2017, p.292), and that these aspects interact in concert to support specific
discourse patterns. According to Hogan, Nastasi, and Pressley (2015), “teacher-
facilitated discussions were more efficient than peer discussions in supporting
student learning”, leading to more knowledge-building conversations with
affirming, agreeing, (p.293). 

By participating in classroom conversation in math-talk

communities, students can develop different learner identities, and different
interaction patterns of student experiences can create "dialogic interactions
that enable some pupils to talk themselves into understanding, whereas
heavily controlled interactions enforce a passive role," as stated by Barnes
(1978) (Solomon & Black, 2008, p. 2). This idea of ‘Talk Types’ is one approach
to the teaching and learning of mathematics discussed by Mercer and Wegerif
(1999) “when identifying student talk within the mathematics classroom” of
exploratory talk (Symons & Dunn, 2019, p.22).

Exploratory talk' encourages children to work more successfully

together on problem-solving projects. According to Mercer et al. (1999b),
exploratory discussion occurs when “partners engage critically but
constructively with each other's ideas” and how knowledge is made “publicly
accountable and reasoning is visible in the talk” (p.97). Children who have
been taught to employ more exploratory talk make bigger gains in their tests
than students who have not used exploratory talk strategies.

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Like Cunningham's ‘P4C model’ on 'facilitation of

enquiries' whereby allowing students to reflect on the dialogue and through
teacher facilitation, the teaching can be increased by helping students ask ‘big’
mathematics-related questions” which can promote coherence in the subject
through further dialogue (Cunningham, 2018, p. 22).

Teachers begin to ask students to offer their ideas in the

classroom while maintaining teacher-centred discussions. Many teachers do
not go beyond this to delegate discussion leadership to students “because this
transfer of authority can be difficult, and they lack the support to do it well”
(Symons & Dunn, 2017, p.21). Barnes described a 'performance climate' in
many classrooms in 1976, stating that it "disempowers the pupil and prevents
them from reflecting on their own thinking and pre-existing knowledge in
order to relate new to old” (Solomon & Black, 2004,p.2).   The loss of
collaboration that results from the teacher's isolation from the pupils,
according to Barnes (1976), happens when the teacher "allies himself with
external standards that may implicitly devalue what the learner has produced"
(p.111)

When, on the other hand, a teacher responds to his students, he

is "taking their point of view on the subject seriously, and such interactions
attribute a higher status to the learners’ contributions, underlining their
ownership of the learning that is going on” (Solomon & Black, 2004 p. 2). Doerr
and Lerman (2010) employ Herbal-concept Eisenmann's theory of a
"Transitional Mathematical Language," in which a teacher or student creates a
specific language relevant to a certain classroom, to describe how

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communication serves as the primary motivator for all learning. To establish a

language, it is critical for kids in the classroom to “have opportunities to
discuss mathematics with peers, to connect words and contexts meaningful to
them” (Symons & Dunn, 2019, p.22).

Inquiring about student reasoning is an excellent way to begin

developing classroom discourse communities. Hufferd-Ackles et al. (2004)
explored the characteristics of math-talk communities in urban schools in the
United States with varied student populations. A single teacher working with
Latino primary school pupils in an urban setting in the United States was the
subject of a one-year case study. The study's purpose in this case was to
“describe the building of a maths talk learning community (p.81). According to
the study, there are three levels of mathematics instruction: standard
mathematics classroom (level 0), classroom embracing meaningful
collaborative math talk of level 3 (p.91).

This article not only looked at questioning as a component in a

math talk learning community but also the level of interaction between
student and teacher is unequivocal. Hufferd-Ackles et al. (2004), explains how
through questioning there was a shift in the study from “a focus on questioning
to find answers to a focus on questions to uncover the mathematical thinking
behind the answers”. Symons & Dunn (2019) has also mentioned that “closed
problems can lead to exploratory talk” but problems should be open-ended so
“there is no definitive solution or method of solving the problem” (p.23). This
can allow children opportunities to critically think, enquire and evaluate their
ideas from their pairs in discussions in classrooms.

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Cunningham (2018) establishes a community of enquiry and his

‘Philosophy for Children (P4C)’ by allowing a “whole class sit in a circle and
engage in facilitated dialogue about a question they, the participants have
chosen” (p.21).  Cunningham encourages group participation and gives the
students time to reflect on the questions they have generated. The importance
of social interaction in the learning process is emphasized by Lev Vygotsky,
who also asserted that "what a kid can achieve with assistance today, she will
be able to do by herself tomorrow" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 87). The Zone of
Proximal Development is the time between learning to do something with a
teacher's assistance and being able to do it on your own.

The author, Cunningham (2018) assertion is that "mathematics is

a form of social construct” (p.21) and similarly Cobb (1999) agrees with this
stating that mathematical ideas are “seen to emerge as the collective practices
of the classroom community” (p.31) and he believes this is how learners can
become ‘proficient’ in mathematics. Davis et al. (2015) would agree with this
view, but he would suggest that “over time, meanings gain a cultural currency
which makes mathematics a body of knowledge and this process of knowing is
active and fluid” (Cunningham, p.21).

Vygotsky was a social constructivist, and his teaching philosophy

emphasizes the importance of social context in learning. McCarthy (2006)
discusses “that the role of social interactions and the web of classroom

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communications have in supporting the development of understanding and in

providing the optimum learning environment for the student (McCarthy, 2006,
p. 32). Many scholars would agree with this, Cobb et al (1991) mentions that
social interaction is vital for ‘learning opportunities. McCarthy (2006) notes
that there is ‘enormous responsibility’ put on the teacher to try to have an
optimum learning environment. Richards 1991 (Cited in McCarthy, 2006, p. 30)
believes that the role of the teacher is important too as “students will not
become active learners by accident, but by design”.

Swan (2006) notes that “not all collaboration leads to more

connectionist thinking by pupils and teachers” (Cunningham, p. 22). However,
by creating classroom activities that may support mathematical concepts and
make use of the abilities that kids have acquired through the ‘P4C’ model. The
best primary education, according to Mercer & Wegerif (1999b), will involve a
"balanced integration of teacher-led, whole-class activities with structured
peer group activities and individualised work" (p.108). As a means for students
to gain from a teacher's intellectual supervision while also becoming active
"skilled participants in intellectual communities of discourse and practice"
(p.108)

Barnes (2008) saw being ‘active’ as not just moving around the
room but rather “attempting to interrelate, to reinterpret, to understand new
experiences and ideas” (p.2). But which teaching method the teacher chooses
– question and answer, guided discovery, demonstration, it will always be the
pupil who has to do the learning. The learner actively constructs their new way
of understanding. While Barnes (1976) also remarks that if students have the

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“opportunity to explain their thinking in this way enables learners to take

ownership of their knowledge”. (p.42).

It's crucial to note, however, that "the investigation of P4C is

significantly more than a straightforward discussion" (Cunningham, n.d, p.42).
'The Community of Inquiry is neither teacher-centered and controlled nor
student-centred and controlled but centred on and governed by the demands
of truth,' Susan Gardner writes in her article 'Inquiry is no Mere Conversation
(or Discussion or Dialogue): Facilitation of Inquiry is hard work!' (Gardner,1995,
p. 38). The facilitator "needs the skills to be able to push for depth in the
discourse" to accomplish this, she says in this passage (Cunningham, n.d, p.42).
An always "vigilant facilitator who maintains direction and forces depth with
respect to the philosophical truth toward which the inquiry points" is
necessary for a community of inquiry to succeed, as is considerable experience
in guiding discussion to maximize student autonomy. (Susan Gardner, 2015,
p.88)

Similarly, Lovell (2002) states that "Not all talk, even about
mathematics, directly contributes to the growth of understanding". (p.5) The
experience in the mathematics classroom and the larger school setting
described by Simmons (1993) "bears out the notion that students need to be
coached in how to discourse, i.e. engage in 'purposeful talk,' (Lovelle, 2002,
p.4). But through one’s own research one does understand now how
important math talk is in a classroom and that student construct their own
knowledge through ‘creative, critical, collaborative and caring’ thinking.

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Reference List

1. Barnes, D. (2008). Exploratory talk for learning. In N. Mercer, & S.

Hodgkinson (Eds.), Exploring talk in school: Inspired by the work of
Douglas Barnes (pp. 1-16). SAGE Publications Ltd,
https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446279526.n1
2. Cockcroft "Mathematics Counts" The Cockcroft Report, DES, 1982.
3. Cunningham, R. (2018) ‘Creative, collaborative, critical and caring
thinking’, Mathematics Teaching, (263), pp. 21–25.
4. Cunningham, Rod.(n.d) ‘Why philosophy and maths work hand in hand’.
Creative Teaching & Learning. Volume 6.4 & 7.1. Available at :
www.teachingtimes.com › ctl6-4-philosophy.
5. Gardner, Susan. (2015). Commentary on ‘Inquiry is no mere
conversation’. Journal of Philosophy in Schools. 2.
10.21913/JPS.v2i1.1105.
6. Haylock, D, Mathematics Explained for Primary Teachers, 2010. Sage
Publications.
7. Hufferd-Ackles, K, Fusion, K & Sherin, M. (2004). Describing Levels and
Components of a Math-Talk Learning Community. Journal for Research

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in Mathematics Education. Pp.81-116. Available at:

https://doi.org/10.2307/30034933
8. Lovell, Elizabeth (2002). Mathematical Discussion in the Classroom.
Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal 16. Pp.1-12.
9. McCarthy, J. (2006) ‘Revisiting constructivism’, LEARN 2006, pp. 26-35.
10.Mercer, N & Wegerif, R & Dawes, L. (1999b). Children's Talk and the
Development of Reasoning in the Classroom. British Educational
Research Journal. 25. Pp. 95-111. 10.1080/0141192990250107.
11.Mercer, N., & Wegerif, R. (1999a). Is exploratory talk productive talk? In
K. Littleton & P. Light (Eds.), Learning with computers: Analysing
productive interaction (pp. 79–101). London: Routledge.

12.Murata, A & Siker, J & Kang, B & Baldinger, E & Kim, H & Scott, M &
Lanouette, K. (2017). Math Talk and Student Strategy Trajectories: The
Case of Two First Grade Classrooms. Cognition and Instruction. 35. 290-
316. 10.1080/07370008.2017.1362408.

13.Nathan, M.J. & Knuth, E.J. (2003) A Study of Whole Classroom

Mathematical Discourse and Teacher Change Cognition and Instruction,
21(2) p. 175-207.

14.Schoenfield, A. (1992) Learning to think mathematically: problem

solving, metacognition and sense making in mathematics, in : D.A.
Grouws (ED) Handbook of Mathematics Teaching and Learning (New
York, Macmillian).

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15.Solomon, Y & Black, L. (2008). Talking to learn and learning to talk in

mathematics classroom. Exploring talk in school.
10.4135/9781446279526.n5.

16.Sztain, P., Heck, D. and Malzahn, K. (2020). Activating Math Talk, SAGE
Publications.

17.Vygotsky. L. "Thought and Language" (translation newly revised and

edited by Alex Kozulin) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
U.S.A., 1986.

Artefact 3b: Text (Zoom link and password)

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