Broadening What Counts as Math Talk in a Translanguaging Elementary Classroom

• In Event: 35.068 - Translanguaging and Mathematics: Recognizing and Capitalizing on the Brilliance of Bilingual Children

Abstract

We present a bilingual elementary mathematics classroom where children and their teacher engaged in translanguaging practices that emphasized students’ agency, allowing them to share their understandings, which were then centered, by the teacher and the classroom community, as the mathematics to be learned.
Linguistic minority students have historically received large amounts of teacher-directed, procedural math instruction focused on basic computation and number concepts (Anyon, 1989, Ladson-Billings, 1997). These practices are not surprising given that for decades research in mathematics education has often focused on vocabulary development and on the difficulties linguistic minority students face in learning in a monolingual mathematics classroom (Téllez, Moschkovich & Civil, 2011). In recent years, researchers have started to challenge this view, pointing out that language is something one learns through practice in specific contexts over time (García, 2009). Taking this stance, we advocate for research in mathematics education that centers bilingual children’s mathematical reasoning and ways of knowing (Turner & Drake, 2016.) We present translanguaging in practice: a multilingual mathematics classroom, teaching in ways that empower bilingual children as capable mathematicians.

We present a case that characterizes a bilingual mathematics classroom where a bilingual teacher supports and extends children’s mathematical thinking by engaging in translanguaging strategically, in order to build on the ideas shared during class. We coded two mathematics lessons that lasted 45 minutes each. Content analysis was used to identify patterns in the codes, and debriefing (Merriam, 1998) to ensure the initial codes fit into more defined themes.

We share two key findings: (1) the teacher did not force a particular format for the students’ explanations. The students in this classroom were often encouraged to express their thinking in the language in which their minds happened to express the idea at that moment. The teacher purposely shifted the focus for mathematics instruction from the language (English vs. Spanish) to the mathematical idea being learned (Author, 2017). However, though the language was placed in the background, it provided the vehicle for foregrounding the mathematical ideas. This finding addresses Moschkovich’s (2015) call for high cognitive demand tasks with the opportunities to engage in mathematical practice and discourse for students whose first language is not English. (2) We were able to identify a teaching practice for mathematics for bilingual children where their rich mathematical ideas, with teacher support, became collectively constructed knowledge. This finding is consistent with Baileya, Blackstock-Bernstein & Heritage (2015), who suggest that better instruction and assessment of bilingual students’ mathematical understanding are needed.

The findings presented here derive value not only from their authenticity, but also from how these experiences are rooted within a belief in students’ mathematical prowess and thus, facilitate children recognizing and believing in their ability to create and define mathematics. In contrast to deficit views of bilingual children, the ideas presented here show the depth of children’s mathematical understanding and their unique ability to think inventively, providing a framework within which bilingual teachers can support the development of complex mathematical ideas.

Authors

• Gladys Rueda-Krause, College of William and Mary

• Melissa Adams, Blazer Elementary School

• Luz A. Maldonado, Texas State University