2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER: EXAMINING INSERVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFSABOUT USING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE TO TEACH MATHEMATICSAnn WheelerTexas Woman’s UniversityAwheeler2@twu.eduIn this study, the researcher qualitatively investigated how incorporating children’s literatureinto the mathematics classroom impacted 18 middle school (Grades 6-8) inservice teachers’mathematics pedagogy. Data collection consisted of tests, background surveys, journal articlereviews, and daily reflections. Based on data analysis, findings suggest that all participants wereopen to the idea of using children’s fiction in their mathematics classroom with seven claimingto want to incorporate fiction more than ever before in the upcoming years. Implications forcollege educators include providing teachers with opportunities to see the utilization ofchildren’s literature in mathematics lessons.Oftentimes, K-12 teachers may struggle to capture students’ interests in mathematics, wherestudents may feel mathematics is too difficult and/or uninteresting to invest their time and effort.Even though teachers may face opposition from students in learning mathematics, usingchildren’s literature in any level of a mathematics classroom can help students improve criticalthinking skills, thwart mathematics apprehension, and engage in meaningful mathematicslearning through contexts (Furner, Yahya, & Duffy, 2005). In addition, one cannot downplay thevaluable mathematically rich exchanges between students and teachers that books afford (Roth-McDuffie & Young, 2003; Thiessen, 2004) or the connections teachers can make between booksand mathematically rich games (Cutler, Gilkerson, Parrott, & Bowne, 2003).Through a grant funded 11-day graduate course, the researcher attempted to qualitativelyanswer the following overarching research question:How does children’s literature impact inservice teachers’ opinions about teachingmathematics?Literature ReviewThere is much research that suggests the benefits of children’s literature in the mathematicsclassroom (Cutler, Gilkerson, Parrott, & Bowne, 2003; Furner, Yahya, & Duffy, 2005; Roth-McDuffie & Young, 2003; Thiessen, 2004; Whitin & Whitin, 2004). One of the most obviousexamples is via the Communication Standard in NCTM’s Principles and Standards (2000).NCTM advocates the use of communication in the mathematics classroom, which can beachieved through dialogues between the teacher and students when children’s books enter theProceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 125
discussion. Many texts include wild scenarios, such as knights and perilous geometry-inspiredquests (Neuschwander, 1999), shape shifting polygons (Burns, 1994), and even duelingmathematically savvy barbers (Sundby, 2000), which promote thought-provoking exchanges ofmathematical ideas in ways that formulas and lectures could never do.Although many authors claim their texts can be used in mathematics classrooms, cautionshould be used when making your choices. Whitin and Whitin (2004) believe there are four mainareas to consider when selecting a book. The first main concern is that the mathematics beingportrayed in the story is sound and authentic. Stories should not be manufactured as a way to sellbooks. In addition, the book’s tone should elicit lively discussion. Thirdly, the words and/orrepresentations in the book, such as pictures and graphics, should provoke the reader’s attention.Lastly, Whitin and Whitin detail the importance of social justice issues, where race, gender, andculture are all respectively addressed by the author(s) and illustrator(s).MethodologyFor this study, the researcher focused on middle school (Grades 6-8) inservice teachers whoagreed to be a part of a one-year grant funded geometry focused program. The program consistedof two graduate courses, an 11-day geometry focused graduate class from 8:30-12:30 each dayduring the summer of 2012 and a 7-day geometry focused class from 8:30-4:00 during the 2012-2013 academic year. The researcher centered this study on the former, where participants learnedgeometry through the use of children’s literature, hands-on activities, and group work. Topicscovered during the summer program included polygons, angles, perimeter, area, circles,symmetry, similar figures, and transformations. For each new geometry concept, the researcher,one of three instructors for the course, would read key book excerpts from a children’s book,summarize main story lines, or narrate the entire book to the class as a way to either introduce orrecap a hands-on geometry lesson. As part of the course instruction, the researcher read twobooks in their entirety during the summer term. Approximately 10-20% of the summer class timewas spent integrating literature into the curriculum. Some of the books used throughout thesummer included such titles as The Greedy Triangle (Burns, 1994), Sir Cumference and theDragon of Pi (Neuschwander, 1999), Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland(Neuschwander, 2001), Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (Neuschwander, 1997), andCut Down to Size at High Noon: A Math Adventure (Sundby, 2000).Proceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 126
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….where the Mathematicscomes swee
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THANK YOU TO OUR REVIEWERSKeith Ado
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Table of ContentsPreservice Teacher
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Support for Students Learning Mathe
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own problem solving, which is criti
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to get started and persistence. Tea
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Posamentier, A. S., Smith, B. S., &
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conceptual understanding, applicati
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Table 1Identified Mathematical Prac
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justify their statements, included
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Finally, engagement in MP.6 was ass
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ EMOTIONAL EN
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“experiences that are charged wit
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Number of journals containingEmotio
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ConclusionsStruggle and frustration
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Mathematics Teacher Candidates’ U
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function and applied the vertical l
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semester, about half of the course
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They further state that “the impo
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C. Laborde (Eds.) International Han
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(SCK), or knowledge of mathematics
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level of difficulty for each partic
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MKT Measures ScoresMathematics in G
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deep rooted belief in a single way
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THE INTERVIEW PROJECTAngel Rowe Abn
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involving addition and subtraction:
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6+7 4+9=6+(6+1) Substitution =4+(10
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We strongly believe that this inter
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AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR SUPPORTI
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Practice throughout the investigati
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are expected to pursue. Teacher not
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students to organize their reports
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Slovin, H., Venenciano, L., Ishihar
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The research presented in this pape
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students’ confidence. Because bel
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triangulation necessitated examinat
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their ability to teach the mathemat
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SPATIAL REASONING IN UNDERGRADUATE
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journal prompt would be given as a
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given to the 33 students on the MPI
Page 81 and 82: to advance our way of life, then sp
Page 83 and 84: STUDENT CONCEPTIONS OF “BEST” S
Page 85 and 86: students are likely to interact wit
Page 87 and 88: opinion of the student body. This q
Page 89 and 90: At the highest level of reasoning a
Page 91 and 92: APPENDIXTo use two decks of cards t
Page 93 and 94: isolated and often occur in tandem
Page 95 and 96: with the CCSSM. Teachers read and d
Page 97 and 98: teachers’ role-play of SFMP #4. A
Page 99 and 100: Durkin, D. (1978-1979). What classr
Page 101 and 102: as well as the alignment between th
Page 103 and 104: Table 2Number of teachers per grade
Page 105 and 106: Table 4Classification Categories fo
Page 107 and 108: field so that research on the initi
Page 109 and 110: dynamic approach to learning conten
Page 111 and 112: Kindergarten Lesson FormatHow May W
Page 113 and 114: team’s goals? As much as possible
Page 115 and 116: 6. While preparing the lesson, teac
Page 117 and 118: active learning and collective part
Page 119 and 120: classroom. “I would like to know
Page 121 and 122: I had never been brave enough to tr
Page 123 and 124: THE PATH OF REFORM IN SECONDARY MAT
Page 125 and 126: Our collaboration model was formed
Page 127 and 128: internal evaluator) were analyzed.
Page 129 and 130: DiscussionOn part I of the survey t
Page 131: whole department of secondary mathe
Page 135 and 136: Data collection consisted of tests,
Page 137 and 138: I've not used children's literature
Page 139 and 140: could extend this inquiry to high s
Page 141 and 142: course titled Calculus with Busines
Page 143 and 144: no mathematical sense and should no
Page 145 and 146: Adopts the “111” (a term coined
Page 147 and 148: Specifically, clicking the “Click
Page 149 and 150: algebraic expression is carried out
Page 151 and 152: Retrieved from http://secc.sedl.org
Page 153 and 154: furthermore, each model may result
Page 155 and 156: After instruction in the course, th
Page 157 and 158: Table 4The group’s categories and
Page 159 and 160: you choose three place values, æ 4
Page 161 and 162: APPENDIXTable 5Description of Combi
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Page 165 and 166: Figure 1: Mean trajectories and MD
Page 167 and 168: Figure 2: Mean trajectories and MD
Page 169 and 170: Performance, 33, 1410-1419.Cohen Ka
Page 171 and 172: Moyer, 2007). At his or her own pac
Page 173 and 174: logged by the system and then retri
Page 175 and 176: curriculum. The nature of the onlin
Page 177 and 178: Cox, G., Carr, T., & Hall, M. (2004
Page 179 and 180: curriculum locally, within individu
Page 181 and 182: Popularity tallied whether or not a
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Amazingly, despite there being a fe
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ReferencesBlack, M. (1962). Models
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connections are connections or rela
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Table 1Instructional TasksSquareTab
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t-charts made it easier for student
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Figure 2. A Display of Student Stra
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ReferencesAnderson, J. R., Greeno,
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their parents in phenotype (observa
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student learning calls for differen
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Figure 2. (A) P3. (B). Extension of
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the usual phenotypic assessments an
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teachers is the discrepancy between
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expected to learn and the inquiry a
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his partner about his observations,
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hard for some children? The nature
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Lakoff and Nunez: specifically, tha
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Figure 5: Average hand trajectories
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Figure 6: Distributions of maximum
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ReferencesAnderson, J. R. (2005). H
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Social system perspectives view the
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urged students to think of some way
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Figure 1: The Discourse Patterns Du
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Figure 3 blow illustrates the devel
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