Influence of Instructional Tasks on Classroom Discourse in China’s Reformed Primary Mathematics Classrooms

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  In Roundtable Session: How Classroom Language Influences Learning

Abstract

Ninety mathematics class sessions from 30 fifth-grade classrooms were observed to examine how the features of instructional tasks, high cognitive demand, multiple representations and multi-solution strategies may influence classroom discourse behaviors of the Chinese teachers and students. Results showed that tasks of high cognitive demand led to teachers’ higher-order questioning. Students’ participatory responses were influenced directly by teachers’ higher-order questioning, but not directly by the high-demanding tasks themselves. Teachers were more likely to explore students’ answers with the tasks of multiple representations. High cognitive demand tasks or teachers’ higher-order questioning led to more teacher-authority in evaluating student responses. None of the three cognitive features of tasks was found to directly promote teacher-student joint authority in classroom discourse.

Authors

• Yujing Ni, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Dehui Zhou, Hong Kong Baptist University

• Xiaoqing Li, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Qiong Li, Beijing Normal University