The Australian Lexicon: Generic Rather Than Discipline-Specific

• In Event: 66.054 - Unpacking the Technical Vocabulary of Middle School Mathematics Teachers Internationally

Abstract

Objective
This research study addressed the question: What are the terms that Australian teachers use to describe the phenomena of the middle school mathematics classroom? In this presentation, we identify the constituent elements and structural characteristics of the Australian lexicon.

Perspective(s)
The lexical terms that are familiar and in widespread use by teachers are valuable resources for the professional community of teachers. Terms may be used in a productive and purposeful manner, as opportunities emerge for purposeful interaction by teachers, with each other as well as with teacher educators and policy makers. A robust and coherent mathematics classroom lexicon, defined and illustrated, provides a common point of reference for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers alike.

In other words we can ask: What practices are valued by this act of naming and how might these named practices be improved?

This research project provides insight into the naming system employed by middle school mathematics teachers in Australia in relation to their classroom practice by documenting and interpreting the constructs that are well-known and understood and are used in discussions with others, and by comparing this naming system with lexicons from other communities internationally.

Methods and data
Data generation was undertaken simultaneously in Australia and other countries. Each participating team contributed a videotaped lesson which was included in a stimulus package. This stimulus material was viewed by team members in each country who addressed the question: “What do you see that you can name?” Team consensus was required for the inclusion of a term in the lexicon and authority was accorded primarily to available evidence that the term was in current use by teachers. The national lexicon from each country involves the assembly of local terms reflecting the well-established pedagogical traditions of the participating communities. These terms are supplemented with the clearest possible operational definitions in English, describing both the form and function of each named term. The combined classroom video material from the participating countries then becomes a source of multiple high definition video exemplars of each of the named terms.

Results
A total of 69 terms have been identified for inclusion in the Australian National Lexicon. These terms were found to be familiar and in widespread use by teachers. The items in the Australian lexicon can be organized in five categories: Administration, Assessment, Classroom Management, Learning Strategies and Teaching Strategies. The distribution of terms across these categories reflects a distinctive prioritization of practice. Among many interesting features: many of the terms are gerunds (noun/verbs) and not one of the terms identifies a practice that can be found only in the mathematics classroom. Discussion will address whether the structural characteristics reflect local/national pedagogical history and convention or linguistic characteristics of English (shared with the USA).

Scholarly significance
Once institutionalized within the profession, a term’s essential characteristics can be reflected on and discussed. The social reality of Australian middle school mathematics teachers’ professional practice is revealed by identifying the pedagogical assumptions and norms of practice implicit in the Australian Lexicon.

Authors

• Carmel Mesiti, University of Melbourne

• David J. Clarke, University of Melbourne