Students' and Teachers' Responses to Questions Meant to Support Mathematical Discourse

• In Event: 47.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 47.095-12 - Facilitating Mathematics Discourse: Classroom Conventions and Teacher Tensions

Abstract

This study highlights mathematical discourse through developing and studying students’ responses to the discourse practice of teachers’ questioning. We examine students’ responses to questions three junior high school teachers asked during lessons they enacted following their participation in professional development sessions organized around using questioning as a means for developing mathematical discourse. We found that students were most likely to answer questions with a single word. Second, we found that “probing thinking” questions prompted the most responses from students. Finally, we found that teachers often answered their own questions, either with answers or with more questions. This study highlights the need for professional development for teachers around further developing discourse moves that model how to engage in mathematical discourse

Authors

• Sarah Ann Roberts, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Alexis Deidre Spina, University of California - Santa Barbara