What's the Big Deal about Vocabulary?

Abstract

Techniques for teaching mathematics terminology allow adolescents to expand their abstract reasoning ability and move beyond operations into problem solving.

An Investigation of the Mathematics-Vocabulary Knowledge of First-Grade Students

“…language and accompanying vocabulary terms. To say that mathematics is strictly numerals and symbols is an understatement; students require knowledge of mathematics vocabulary in written and oral forms to demonstrate mathematics competency with concepts and procedures (Dunston & Tyminski, 2013). tract, trapezoid); (4) terms that have more than one mathematical definition (e.g., cube as a solid figure vs. to cube a number); (5) terms that appear in mathematics and other disciplines, with different technical definitions (e.g., prism is a solid figure in mathematics vs. the scientific prism that refers to an object that refracts light); (6) mathematical terms that have homophones or homographs (e.g., add amounts together vs. a commercial ad); (7) mathematical terms that are related but have distinct meanings (e.g., factor and multiple; hundreds and hundredths); (8) a single English mathematical term that may be translated into another language in multiple ways; (9) terms with spelling irregularities (e.g., half vs. halves); (10) mathematical terms verbalized in more than one way (e.g., skip count by twos vs. multiples of two); or (11) an informal term for a mathematical term (e.g., ball for circle).…”

Engaging caregivers and children in picture books: A family-implemented mathematical language intervention.

“…However, prior mathematical language intervention work found similar benefits on numeracy outcomes even when numeracy-related interactions between the interventionist and child were explicitly controlled (Purpura et al, 2017). Second, it may be that understanding mathematical language terms facilitates a broader conceptual knowledge of numeracy skills (Dunston & Tyminski, 2013), which ultimately could lead to greater gains in numeracy skills. Likely, this is because understanding the quantitative terms provides an approximate understanding of numbers.…”

Math Is Not a Universal Language: Supporting Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities Using Explicit Vocabulary Instruction in Mathematics Classrooms

“…What SWLDs struggle with specifically varies from student to student, but given the increasing complexity of mathematical concepts and the language used to describe, teach, and communicate about them in middle school mathematics curricula, it is sensible to address the difficulties in mathematics experienced by SWLDs by addressing their knowledge of mathematical language and vocabulary (Montague et al, 2011;Pierce & Fontaine, 2009;. Middle school students encounter a great deal of mathematical language and vocabulary in textbooks, on assignments and assessments, and in some classroom interactions or instruction (Dunston & Tyminski, 2013;Fuchs et al, 2021;van Garderen, 2008;Witzel et al, 2013). Word problems, perhaps the most frequently encountered problem type on mathematics assessments, demand not just knowledge of mathematics operations but also text comprehension (Fuchs et al, 2015;.…”

“…Middle school students encounter a great deal of mathematical language and vocabulary in textbooks, on assignments and assessments, and in some classroom interactions or instruction (Dunston & Tyminski, 2013; Fuchs et al, 2021; van Garderen, 2008; Witzel et al, 2013). Word problems, perhaps the most frequently encountered problem type on mathematics assessments, demand not just knowledge of mathematics operations but also text comprehension (Fuchs et al, 2015; Powell et al, 2019).…”