Pupils’ Mathematical Talk (Speaking Mathematically)

David Pimm (1987)

Chpt2: Pupils’ mathematical talk


The second chapter explores conversation between a teacher and students and students themselves in mathematics classrooms. Students talks can be classified into two types: to other or to self. The former one plays a role to pass the idea what the students think, and the other one is to deepen and organize their understanding. Those verbal actions including oral expression and discussion can reveal students’ deep insights, ideas, and understandings of mathematics. The author, additionally, suggests that teachers should expose the purpose of learning at the beginning of every class and emphasizes the necessity of discussion in mathematics classrooms.
 
Comment

This chapter in the classic book reminds me the recent history of mathematics education that focuses on chalk and talk style. As I see the current Japanese national curriculum, students’ mathematical explanation and discussions are emphasized. It means that research of language in mathematics should be a younger topic within the discipline of mathematics education. Actually, most research of language in mathematics in Japanese academia is recognized as a linguistics field rather than mathematics education, so there are no studies about linguistic aspects in mathematics education in Japan.

  One thing I questioned when reading this article is, because my curiosity is social minority students, the pupil whom the author mentions in this book seem to be general British students. As far as I know, British schools are classified by school districts where the similar social status people inhabit together, so I am wondering what kind of schools the author mentions in this book. Also, are there any differences among different social status students in terms of language in mathematics?