Dissent or Discord? A Case Study of Mathematics Debate as a Learning Opportunity

• In Event: 64.087 - MTCC Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: 64.087-6 - Proof, Argument, and Debate in Mathematics Classrooms

Abstract

These data draw from a teaching experiment comparing student-driven (n=25) and teacher-driven (n=27) inquiry with 5th grade math students. In groups, children spent five days interpreting and discussing data that compared two online websites. Focusing on instances of debate, microanalyses of classroom video (30 hours) show students engaged in high levels of joint sense-making across approaches. However, during debate, teacher-driven groups more often devolved into negative personal attack. Further, interviews reveal those students as unable to recollect the mathematical arguments under debate while their student-driven counterparts could. While debate is associated with social studies or science teaching, this paper conjectures how mathematics pedagogy can also create opportunities for reasoned debate where students can dissent without undermining their sense of community.

Authors

• Tesha Sengupta-Irving, Vanderbilt University

• Casey McGrath, LEAD Public Schools