Campus Location
Abilene Campus
Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2021
Document Type
Manuscript
Department
Teacher Education
Degree Name
Master of Education in Teaching and Learning
First Advisor
Andrew Huddleston
Abstract
Whole group math talks, or number talks, are a common practice to get students talking about their own understanding of mathematical concepts. The purpose of this study was to implement math talks in small group settings to see what would happen, specifically to students’ conceptual understanding as well their general perceptions of math talks. This study took place in a fourth-grade math classroom, and math talks were implemented with the whole class for a week and then moved to small groups for the remaining three weeks of the study. During the study, a pre-and post-assessment was given, field notes were taken, and focus groups and interviews were conducted. All data was analyzed using the constant comparative method, looking for recurring themes and descriptive statistics was used to analyze numerical data. The data revealed three major themes: content and processes, language’s crucial role, and math confidence.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wasser, Ella, "“Math Talks are Like an Alarm Clock Waking You Up”: Language’s Crucial Role in Mathematics" (2021). Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning. 45.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/metl/45
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons