Common and Uncommon Ground in Mathematics and Science Terminology

Kouba, Vicky L.

doi:10.1111/j.1949-8594.1989.tb11967.x

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The one exception to this was for the term “adaptation,” to which 100% of the students provided the everyday language meaning of this term compared with the evolutionary meaning. As Kouba (1989) found, mathematicians and scientists in their study often differed in the way they used the same terminology. A similar explanation may apply to our findings: in the course content of the biology classes surveyed, the word “adaptation” was used in the colloquial sense.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2013). Select terms also have slightly different meanings among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, adding another layer of confusion about the true meaning and use of these terms (Kouba, 1989). These confusions may impede a student’s ability to learn biology-specific concepts that rely on those terms (Rector et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding

Zukswert

Barker

McDonnell

2019

LSE

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The excessive “jargon” load in biology may be a hurdle for developing conceptual understanding as well as achieving core competencies such as scientific literacy and communication. Little work has been done to characterize student understanding of biology-specific jargon. To address this issue, we aimed to determine the types of biology jargon terms that students struggle with most, the alignment between students’ perceived understanding and performance defining the terms, and common errors in student-provided definitions. Students in two biology classes were asked to report their understanding of, and provide definitions for, course-specific vocabulary terms: 1276 student responses to 72 terms were analyzed. Generally, students showed an overestimation of their own understanding. The least accurate self-assessment occurred for terms to which students had substantial prior exposure and terms with discordant meanings in biology versus everyday language. Students were more accurate when assessing their understanding of terms describing abstract molecular structures, and these were often perceived as more difficult than other types of terms. This research provides insights about which types of technical vocabulary may create a barrier to developing deeper conceptual understanding, and highlights a need to consider student understanding of different types of jargon in supporting learning and scientific literacy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding

Zukswert

Barker

McDonnell

2019

LSE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because the language of mathematics is complex, content-bound, and largely abstract, there is an inherent difficulty in communicating mathematics terminology to others (Kouba, 1989). This difficulty manifests itself in reading mathematics texts, as researchers have reported a relationship between success in reading mathematics and specific reading strategies, including knowledge of technical vocabulary (Gullatt, 1987).…”

Section: Vocabulary Learning In Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Research on Vocabulary Instruction in the Content Areas: Implications for Struggling Readers

Harmon

Hedrick

Wood

2005

Reading & Writing Quarterly

123

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Differentiating Mathematics Instruction for Secondary‐Level English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom

Cardimona

2016

TESOL Journal

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This study investigated the nature of dyadic interaction between secondary English language learners (ELLs) engaged in mathematics peer tutoring sessions. An analysis of 15 ELL expert/novice student‐tutoring dyads and three mathematics teacher/ELL novice dyads revealed the importance of questions and wait time in developing novice tutee ownership of mathematical problem‐solving activities. Under current U.S. policy, mathematics teachers are encouraged to adapt to reform‐oriented teaching practices that emphasize discourse and communication, as noted in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards published in 1989, and to prepare ELLs to participate in high‐stakes large‐scale assessments. Often used as gatekeepers to high school graduation, secondary school math teachers are not only under pressure to adapt their teaching strategies to reflect reform‐oriented methods, but also under an immense time constraint to prepare all students for graduation. The results of this study are supported by Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development and can offer secondary mathematics teachers of ELLs practical strategies that reflect reform‐oriented teaching practices and support active participation, vocabulary development, and independent ownership of mathematics problem‐solving activities.

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Common and Uncommon Ground in Mathematics and Science Terminology

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding

Identifying Troublesome Jargon in Biology: Discrepancies between Student Performance and Perceived Understanding

Research on Vocabulary Instruction in the Content Areas: Implications for Struggling Readers

Differentiating Mathematics Instruction for Secondary‐Level English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom

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