Talking Mathematics
Paper details:
Video source:
http://www.insidemathematics.org/index.php
Inside Mathematics: Algebraic Equations. Inequalities. and Properties (Grade 7): Select and watch the Introduction (clips A & B).
and Problem 1 (clips A, B. & C).
Read transcript what I provide
when you enter the inside mathematics. you can search the title of Algebraic Equations… Properties grade 7}
Directions:
1Read the introduction.
2.Watch the video clips and analyze: you will probably need to watch the video clip several times to really hear what’s being said
and how it’s being said.
3.For one of your viewings of the video. turn off the volume and pay attention to the non-verbal communication.
4Read the teacher’s commentary (if available) to learn more about the teachers’ perspective.
Analysis:
As many of the articles suggest. no one just talks. Talk is shaped by the activity in which people are engaged AND the ideology
or worldview they bring to the activity (i.e.. assumptions about what it means to learn. to know mathematics. to be a student. to
be a particular gender. race. ethnicity. sexuality. ability. nationality. language user). Identify the patterns of talk in the video you
have chosen to analyze. using the following questions as guides:
1)Who talks? Who can say what to whom?
2)Who decides who can talk and what can be said?
3)Who is silent? Who can be silent and who cannot be silent?
4)Describe the nonverbal patterns of interaction that are part of the talk (you may want to turn off the sound to focus on the
nonverbal patterns)
5)Describe the talk in relation to the particular instructional activities.
6)What kind of talk counts as acceptable talk in the videos activity (sociomathematical or sociohistorical norms as well as
classroom social norms)?
7)Do students “talk mathematics” or “talk social studies” in this classroom?
8)Were the norms/patterns of acceptable classroom talk ever breached or disrupted or resisted during the video? Who
breached or disrupted or resisted these norms/patterns? What happened when this occurred?
l!!!***The “big question” to ask about the patterns of classroom talk in content area pedagogy is: What are the patterns of talk in
the classroom interactions you’ve observed (in this video) and how are these patterns related to what “counts” as
knowing/learning/teaching the particular content area (i.e-, what “counts” as knowing/learning/teaching science, mathematics,
history, geography, etc.)?
Write a 5 page memo in which you make an argument about the “big question” listed above.
-Use readings to analyze the relationship between talk and disciplinary learning you observe in the videotaped lesson.
-Support your points with examples from transcripts of classroom talk.
