The Discursive Assessment Protocol to Support English Learners to Develop Their Mathematics Register

• In Event: Equity Topics in Mathematics Education

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an instructional protocol designed to help teachers engage
English learner (EL) students in mathematical problem solving and reasoning through discourse. The “Discursive Assessment Protocol” (DAP) integrates Pólya’s classic problem-solving framework with research-based instructional strategies that are specifically intended to benefit EL students. We provide an example of the DAP being employed during a sample problem-solving episode to examine students’ “multiplication stories” involving fractions. Through the use of the DAP, insights were gained about how to support EL students and non-EL students to develop the mathematics register in English. Among the implications of this study is the value of selecting tasks that are worthwhile and have potential to develop students’ mathematics register.

Authors

• Karla Valesca Matute, University of Wyoming

• Libni Berenice Castellon, University of Wyoming

• Richard Kitchen, University of Wyoming