Can We Teach Students to Write Mathematically?

• In Event: Wide-Ranging Topics in Mathematics Education

Abstract

The necessity of teaching a written communication of mathematical problem-solving and reasoning is well documented in the state standards, yet there are still few studies that examine the effectiveness of the mathematical writing (MW) intervention in a validated way. This study shares the findings from the MW intervention which combined two instructional approaches, self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) and schema-based instruction (SBI), for 163 fourth-grade students. We used One-way mixed ANOVA to compare the effects of the intervention between a treatment and a control group. Students who were in the treatment group wrote better-structured mathematical texts, with a higher quality of mathematical reasoning. Outcomes for students with disabilities was mixed. Research and educational implications are discussed.

Authors

• Elizabeth M. Hughes, The Pennsylvania State University

• Joo-Young Lee, The Pennsylvania State University

• Paul Riccomini, The Pennsylvania State University

• Michelle J. Cook