Perspectives on writing activities in the mathematics classroom

Abstract

Mathematics educators around the world have been addressing ways ofusing writing as a tool in mathematics classes. However there has been little systematic effort to establish a paradigm examining the effectiveness ofparticular activities. In this study, clinical methods were used to examine the effects ofusing certain writing activities. Prewriting, such as modelling or prompts, was seen to be essential. Regular, systematic writing over an extended period improved the students' performance in, and attitude towards, mathematics. Such promising results from classrooms will need to be validated under more generalisable conditions.

Journal Writing: Enlivening Elementary Linear Algebra

“…As a result, students come to view the journals as both an organizational tool and a resource for reviewing. These observations are consistent with the conclusion that student journals are a powerful methodology for aiding students in their learning of mathematical subject matter [1,2,4]. September 1999 Volume IX Number 3…”

“…This op en communica tion fosters an attitudinal shift of t he students toward own ership of t he course and the learning process [4,8,11]. Instead of not having a voice in classroom issues , th e journal writing activity empowers 216 PRIMUS 1999.9:205-225.…”

An investigation of the extent to which writing activities are used in mathematics classes

“…Research quoted earlier in this paper (Davidson & Pearce, 1990) suggested that using writing activities less than once a week had little impact on students. Davidson and Pearce demonstrated that frequency of use of writing was a critical variable in its effectiveness.…”

“…Positive influences on student-teacher interactions and classroom atmosphere have been identified and changes to and improvements in instructional practices have been attributed to the reading of student writing in mathematics classes (Miller & England, 1989;Borasi & Rose, 1989). Davidson and Pearce (1990) in summarising their research into the use of writing in middle school mathematics classes state that student performance has been found to improve if the writing is regular, systematic and carried out over an extended period. These authors also conciuded that, for writing activities in mathematics to be effective and thus beneficial to students, they should be used two or three times each week for maximum effect, while the use of writing less than once each week has little impact on students.…”

Investigating Forms of Children's Writing in Grade 7 Mathematics Classrooms

“…One of the claims made by Davison and Pearce (1990) is that if teachers use writing activities frequently and systematically, for example, at least once a week with pre-writing sessions, the performance of students improves substantially. The analysis of the data showed that this use of writing was not the case with the teachers who took part in the study.…”