Using video clips to identify and promote children\u27s rights as mathematics learners

The Rights of the Learner state that children have four rights they can exercise in the classroom: 1) the right to be confused; 2) the right to claim a mistake; 3) the right to speak, listen, and be heard; and 4) the right to write, do and represent what makes sense to you. In this paper, the author discusses how she uses a video clip of Gretchen solving a multi-digit subtraction problem as a way of helping elementary teacher candidates learn how to attend to children’s mathematical thinking and moments when they exercise their rights as learners. Implications for equity in mathematics classrooms is discussed

The Rights of the Learner: A Framework for Promoting Equity through Formative Assessment in Mathematics Education

An elementary mathematics teacher once argued that she and her students held four Rights of the Learner in the classroom: (1) the right to be confused; (2) the right to claim a mistake; (3) the right to speak, listen and be heard; and (4) the right to write, do, and represent only what makes sense. Written as an emerging framework to promote equity in the mathematics classroom through divergent formative assessment, the RotL assumes that students can take more explicit ownership of their learning, both in writing and in oral communication. Foregrounded in the literature, this paper discusses how the RotL can help children and teachers to embrace productive struggle and mistakes as valuable steps in the process of learning mathematics (and learning to teach mathematics). The paper also frames the RotL with divergent formative assessment as a tangible means of honoring students’ mathematical resources (e.g., native language, out-of-school knowledge and experiences) to help all students learn mathematics. The paper also presents the experiences of a mathematics teacher educator as she learned about and incorporated the RotL with her prospective elementary mathematics teachers in a university methods course. Implications for mathematics education and teacher education are discussed

Creating a Democratic Mathematics Classroom: The Interplay of the Rights and Responsibilities of the Learner

One way in which democratic classrooms can reflect a democracy is by guaranteeing students some inalienable rights; Kalinec-Craig (2017) outlined Olga Torres’s Rights of the Learner (Torres’s RotL) in mathematics classrooms. However, democracies rely not only on citizens’ rights, but on their willingness to take up certain responsibilities as well. We extend this idea to mathematics classrooms to explore the consequences of the interplay of learners’ rights and responsibilities, in the context of the preparation of elementary mathematics teachers. In addition, we explore ways in which learners may overexercise their rights of the learner or opt out of exercising them entirely and the effects of each of those choices on mathematical learning in the classroom

New Working Group: Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice in the Context of University Mathematics Content and Methods Courses

There are three goals for this new working group: 1) To create a community of mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who are (or are interested in) collaboratively teaching mathematics for social justice (TMfSJ) in their university content and/or methods classes. 2) To collaboratively select/develop/modify TMfSJ tasks and implement those in mathematics content/methods classes. 3) To research the implementation of TMfSJ tasks in content and methods classes

A Case Study of Four Latina/o Pre-Service Teachers in Learning to Teach Mathematics for Understanding and Integrate a Child's Out-of-School Mathematical Knowledge and Experiences

This dissertation study examines the experiences of four Latina/o pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they learn about teaching mathematics for understanding (TM4U) and integrating a child's out-of-school mathematical knowledge and experiences during instruction. Studying the knowledge and experiences of Latina/o PSTs is necessary because PSTs from minoritized backgrounds have particular insights about teaching diverse students that can inform the learning experiences of other PSTs. This study investigates the prior experiences and beliefs about mathematics instruction the Latina/o PSTs (and those from minoritized backgrounds) bring as they begin their mathematics methods semester and how they leverage their experiences as they learn to teach mathematics to diverse students. Teaching mathematics for understanding is one way that teachers can support children's understanding of mathematics (Kilpatrick et al 2001). Teachers who integrate children's out-of-school mathematical knowledge and experiences in their practice draws upon multiple existing frameworks--the basic premise being that children come to school with mathematical knowledge and experiences that helps them learn mathematics in school (Gonzalez, Andrade, Civil, & Moll, 2001; Greer, Mukhopadhyay, Powell, & Nelson-Barber, 2009). My study looks at the experiences of Latina/o PSTs as they learn to help children leverage their out-of-school knowledge and experiences to understand mathematics. Data sources included four individual interviews, relevant methods assignments and audio transcripts from methods course discussions, and observational notes from the PSTs' field experience classrooms. The study found that PSTs leveraged their prior experiences as English Language Learners to support linguistically diverse children learn mathematics. Based on their prior experiences, some of the PSTs were more sensitive to the needs of marginalized children learning mathematics. The study found that the PSTs leveraged their experiences as diverse learners to think about the ways teachers could connect in-school mathematics to children's out-of-school mathematical knowledge and experiences. Yet the findings suggest that PSTs still need more experience articulating how exactly children's out-of-school experiences can help children understand mathematics. Implications of this study speak to how the beliefs and prior experiences of PSTs from minoritized backgrounds can inform how future teachers are prepared to teach mathematics to diverse students

The Rights of the Learner: A sociocultural framework for promoting equity through formative assessment in mathematics classrooms

An elementary mathematics teacher once argued that she and her students held four Rights of the Learner in the classroom: (1) the right to be confused; (2) the right to claim a mistake; (3) the right to speak, listen and be heard; and (4) the right to write, do, and represent only what makes sense. Written as an emerging framework to promote equity in the mathematics classroom through divergent formative assessment, the RotL assumes that students can take more explicit ownership of their learning, both in writing and in oral communication. Foregrounded in the literature, this paper discusses how the RotL can help children and teachers to embrace productive struggle and mistakes as valuable steps in the process of learning mathematics (and learning to teach mathematics). e paper also frames the RotL with divergent formative assessment as a tangible means of honoring students’ mathematical resources (e.g., native language, out-of-school knowledge and experiences) to help all students learn mathematics. The paper also presents the experiences of a mathematics teacher educator as she learned about and incorporated the RotL with her prospective elementary mathematics teachers in a university methods course. Implications for mathematics education and teacher education are discussed

Strengthening grade 3-5 students’ foundational knowledge of rational numbers

Background: American students have done poorly in algebra and that has generated policy concerns about preparing students for STEM careers. There has been growing recognition that the algebra problem may begin in earlier grades when students do not adequately master rational numbers. Purpose: The study provided a series of workshops organized around problematic issues that students have in learning rational numbers. The research was designed to help all grade 3-5 teachers in a single school district help students gain in their knowledge of rational numbers. Population: The population was drawn from one large school district (13 schools) and included 140 teachers and 2,845 students matched pre to post. Research Design: The study used a quasi-experimental design. As all teachers in the district were involved, there was no control group. Findings: On the basis of pre-post testing, girl and boy students, as well as students from diverse SES schools demonstrated large gains in their knowledge of rational numbers. There were no significant differences in gains for girls and boys at any of the three grade levels, but SES remained a main effect for gains in achievement for grades 3 and 4 even after entering prior achievement as a covariate and the interaction between SES and gender was significant for grade 5. Recommendations: The findings provide clear evidence that students can make notable gains in learning rational numbers if they are given the opportunity to do so. The authors provide their intentions to further analyze the quantitative data (presented in this paper) with qualitative data that were collected in the study (e.g., providing open-ended response opportunities for students to respond to rational number questions like, What is a fraction? What is a decimal? What is a percent

Making Connections in Practice How Prospective Elementary Teachers Connect to Children’s Mathematical Thinking and Community Funds of Knowledge in Mathematics Instruction

This study examines the ways prospective elementary teachers (PSTs) made connections to children’s mathematical thinking and children’s community funds of knowledge in mathematics lesson plans. We analyzed the work of 70 PSTs from across three university sites associated with an instructional module for elementary mathematics methods courses that asks PSTs to visit community settings and develop problem solving mathematics lessons that connect to mathematical practices in these settings (Community Mathematics Exploration Module). Using analytic induction, we identified three distinct levels of connections to children’s mathematical thinking and their community funds of knowledge evidenced in PSTs’ work (emergent, transitional, and meaningful). Findings describe how these connections reflected different points on a learning trajectory. This study has implications for understanding how PSTs begin to connect to children’s mathematical funds of knowledge in their teaching, a practice shown to be effective for teaching diverse groups of children