USING EVERYDAY LANGUAGE TO SUPPORT LEARNERS’ ACCESS TO MATHEMATICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

The language of mathematics can hinder the development of some learners’ conceptual understanding of mathematics. Language as a whole plays a crucial role in the teaching and learning of mathematics as it serves as the medium in which the teachers and learners think and communicate in the classroom. Ball, Thames and Phelps (2008) argue that the demands of teaching mathematics require specialized mathematical knowledge that only pertains to mathematics teaching and is not required in other mathematics professions. The role of the teacher is to use resources available to them to support learners in accessing mathematical content knowledge. Previous researchers acknowledged the difficulty learners face when trying to interpret the formal language of mathematics in order to access mathematical content knowledge. Consequently, the current study explored the various ways in which the language of learning and teaching can be utilized by teachers to mitigate language difficulties their learners may experience. The study was guided by the research question: What is the informal mathematical language that Grade 10 teachers use to inform effective instruction when teaching functions? This paper aims to describe how teachers use informal mathematical language to teach inequalities and functions. The research is qualitative and the descriptive method was employed, with the researcher serving as the main instrument. The required data was collected by observing two teachers teaching inequalities and functions. The findings indicate that the use of transliteration and demonstrations as teaching strategies reduced the challenges of using English as a medium of instruction to interpret mathematical symbolic language and that the use of everyday language makes a difference in the learning of functions and inequalities. The study informs both pre-service and in-service teacher development programmes.

Systems approaches to professional and decisional mathematics capital

PurposeThis study aims to explore how the theories of professional capital and decisional capital can be extended to introduce “professional mathematics capital” and “decisional mathematics capital”.Design/methodology/approachProfessional development (PD) efforts in one school district in elementary mathematics education are described to illustrate these extensions and to contemplate ways to enhance teacher learning of mathematics pedagogy.FindingsBoth theoretical extensions provided useful frameworks for conceptualizing mathematics PD. Preliminary evidence suggests that participants demonstrated the emergence of professional and decisional mathematics capital.Research limitations/implicationsWhile there were observed and reported changes to teacher practice, further research is needed to explore the implications of these theoretical extensions on student learning.Originality/valueThis study serves to enhance the literature related to PD and teachers' mathematical content knowledge. The theoretical extensions of professional and decisional mathematics capital are a novel and promising concept that allows for a unique approach to be laid out for those designing PD in mathematics.

Analysis of Mathematical Content Knowledge of Elementary Teachers in Lampung Utara Regency: A Baseline Study

According to TIMSS 2015 and PISA 2018 reports, Indonesian students’ knowledge and skills of mathematics are still far from adequate compare to other countries. Therefore the efforts to improve the condition need to done, not just by government but also educational institutions and movements. One of new movement is Gerakan Nasional Berantas Buta Matematika (GernasTastaka, 2018). This baseline study aims to describe and analysis the mathematical content knowledge of 100 elementary teachers from Lampung Utara regency that joined the workshop of mathematics teaching and learning which was developed and facilitated by team from Gernas Tastaka. The eight-question multiple choice pre-test covers Number and Operation, Measurement, Data Analysis, and Probability. Each question is related to specific mathematical content knowledge and skill that are supposed to be mastered by grade 6 students. The quantitative descriptive for each question was conducted to give more details on specific mathematical content knowledge. The result displays that only 36% of the participants can answer correctly 50% of the questions. The low competency of teachers gives impact to their students’ achievement. It is correspondent with the data from Indonesian National Assessment Program (INAP, 2012); mathematics competency of elementary students in Lampung province is below Indonesian national level. One of the teachers’ competencies is their mastery of content knowledge. This study recommends that future developmental workshops/ program for the participants must cover all mathematical content knowledge and skills of elementary level. Besides that, detailed data of participants should be provided in order to attain more reliable analysis.

A Comparison of Student Affect after Engaging in a Mathematical Modeling Activity

The study was a comparison of general students of promise affect and mathematical students of promise affect after doing a mathematical modeling activity. Participants’ gender (n=160), in grades 7-8, were nearly equal in number (81 girls & 79 boys). After completing a Model-eliciting Activity (MEA) in groups of three, participants completed the 31-item Chamberlin Affective Instrument for Mathematical Problem Solving, hereafter referred to as CAIMPS (Chamberlin, Moore, & Parks, 2017). Using four subconstructs, it was determined that the only statistically significant difference in student affect among the groups was self-esteem and self-efficacy (SS) with the general students of promise group having a mean of 3.43 and the mathematical students of promise group having a mean of 3.76. Implications are that the difference in SS may have surfaced because of the mathematical demands of the problems that ultimately influenced participants’ ratings. Three subconstructs (Attitude Value Interest [AVI], Anxiety [ANX], and Aspiration [ASP]) may not have realized a statistically significant difference because they were not as contingent upon mathematical content knowledge as was SS. The final implication is that similar affective ratings may be an indication that MEAs are similarly suitable for use with groups containing individuals with varying talents.