A Social Constructivist Examination of the Use of Writing in Mathematics: A Fifth Grade Case Study

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Constructivist Practices in Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how fifth grade students were impacted by the infusion of writing in mathematics. The study examined writing as a social transaction (Rosenblatt, 1988) that was analyzed through the framework of social constructivism. In this study, writing was used to access prior knowledge, share ideas to construct and justify arguments, for reflection, and assessment. The findings indicated students saw their peers as co-constructors of knowledge and as a resource to further each other’s’ learning. The writing also revealed the students’ varying levels of understanding. The writing activities facilitated students’ reflection and problem solving.

Author

• Christie Lynn Martin, University of South Carolina - Columbia