Multilingual Meaning Making—An Explorative Study of German-Turkish Learners’ Translanguaging Processes Regarding the Part-Whole-Concept

Abstract

Educational Research in Multilingualism indicates that multlingual students’ thinking-and-speaking processes might be associated with different nuances when interpreting concepts and notions. From a subject-didactical perspective, this leads to the question, if or how these nuances can be reconstructed and which possible relevance they possess for mathematical learning trajectories. In a design-based study from the German context, the activation of multilingual resources in the conceptual development of German-Turkish 6th grade learners is examined. Follwing the translanguaging-paradigm, the learners were allowed to use all of their linguistic resources in a small-group-setting with a mulilingual learning environment for conceptually understanding fractions (with the share-notion being focussed), being designed according to a content-and-language-integrated approach. This article outlines the synthesis of the interdisciplinary theoretical background as well as the main research outcomes regarding the form and function of multilinguals’ learning trajectories by reconstructing conceptual fields and further analysing these with the linguistic translanguaging-paradigm in an interdisciplinary approach.

Explanatory videos in the context of learning processes: An interdisciplinary interpretative interaction analysis of production and reflection processes

“…and 3) Explaining-HOW: Explanation of procedures, actions processes, e.g., not only descriptive, but also with explanations of the procedural backgrounds, e.g., on the question "How can you compare fractions by 'coarsening' and 'refining' (and why does this work)?" (Gray & Tall, 1992;Klein, 2009;Kuzu, 2019;Schmidt-Thieme, 2009;Wagner & Wörn, 2011).…”

“…In three main cycles in 2020, 2021 and 2022, n = 18 3rd to 6th grade learners (9-12 years old) were supported in a self-developed teaching-learning environment in accordance with the principles of Design-based Research (Prediger, 2019): Iteratively, different variants and adaptations of the self-developed teaching-and-learning environment were tested by trained and prospective teachers as being part of their teaching practice and after each iteration, the design-principles (meaning theory-based and empirically substantiated maxims for designing the learning environment) as well as design-elements (meaning the concrete tasks, manipulatives, etc. being used in the learning environment according to the design principles) were adapted (Kuzu, 2019;Prediger, 2019). The implementations also included the production of learner explanatory videos after the third cycle: the learners produced multiple explanatory videos for the 'Auxiliary task' after conceptually reflecting the strategy (Kuzu, 2023c(Kuzu, , 2024.…”

“…In a final step, S6 explains that he now has to compensate, e.g., subtract the rounded up "two" from the interim result/ term ("but bu yanlış, because we have to iki artı yapcaz", translated as "but that's wrong, because we have to add two/ plus", see turn 80). Even though the explanation here tends to appear procedural, first facets of a conceptual explanationof an explanation-WHY -also become assumable, as S6 not only uses symbolic language means but also cardinal manipulatives (cubes, bars, and plates) accompanied by domain-specific language means (Bauersfeld 1983;Kuzu, 2019Kuzu, , 2022b, for example when expressing cardinal actions by using language means such as "take away…" and "add…" (see turn 80). In this conceptually illustrated explanation, thus first conceptual aspects behind the procedure in the sense of so-called 'procepts', being an "amalgam of both process and concept, [...] the manifestation of the process itself, which can be manipulated as a mental object" (Gray & Tall 1992, p. 210), are interpretable.…”

“…An example of contradictory 'beliefs' in pedagogical practice would be when a teacher thinks ||that he/she can support all learners in a competence-oriented way and build on their individual resources/ previous experiences||, but at the same time develops a deficit-oriented view of multilingual learners through ideas such as ||Multilinguals are 'languageless' learners with no competencies, they should only learn the official/ state language and should not speak their home languages in the school context|| (seeGarcia & Wei, 2014;Kuzu, 2019 Kuzu, , 2023Moschkovich, 2010).…”