Language and Communication in the Mathematics Classroom

Book excerpt: The way in which teachers communicate with their students partly determines what they communicate. This book addresses the communication issue by building on a series of papers whose first versions were presented in 1992 at the Sixth International Congress of Mathematics Education in Quebec. Papers include: (1) "Crossing the Gulf between Thought and Symbol: Language as (Slippery) Stepping-Stones" (Susan E.B. Pirie); (2) "Three Epistemologies, Three Views of Classroom Communication: Constructivism, Sociocultural Approaches, Interactionism" (Anna Sierpinska); (3) "Verbal Interaction in the Mathematics Classroom: A Vygotskian Analysis" (Maria G. Bartolini Bussi); (4) "Discourse and Beyond: On the Ethnography of Classroom Discourse" (Falk Seeger); (5) "From 'Stoffdidaktik' to Social Interactionism: An Evolution of Approaches to the Study of Language and Communication in German Mathematics Education Research" (Heinz Steinbring); (6) "Examining the Linguistic Mediation of Pedagogic Interactions in Mathematics" (Clive Kanes); (7) "Pupil Language-Teacher Language: Two Case Studies and the Consequences for Teacher Training" (Albrecht Abele); (8) "Teacher-Student Communication in Traditional and Constructivist Approaches to Teaching" (Maria Luiza Cestari); (9) "Alternative Patterns of Communication in Mathematics Classes: Funneling or Focusing?" (Terry Wood); (10) "Students Communicating in Small Groups: Making Sense of Data in Graphical Form" (Frances R. Curcio and Alice F. Artzt); (11) "Communication and Learning in Small-Group Discussions" (Kaye Stacey and Anne Gooding); (12) "Mathematical Communication through Small-Group Discussions" (Marta Civil); (13) "Formats of Argumentation in the Mathematics Classroom" (Gotz Krummheuer); (14) "Teaching without Instruction: The Neo-Socratic Method" (Rainer Loska); (15) "The Role of Natural Language in Prealgebraic and Algebraic Thinking" (Ferdinando Arzarello); (16) "How Students Interpret Equations: Intuition versus Taught Procedures" (Mollie MacGregor); (17) "Epistemological and Metacognitive Factors Involved in the Learning of Mathematics: The Case of Graphic Representations of Functions" (Maria Kaldrimidou and Andreas Ikonomou); (18) "Making Mathematics Accessible" (Megan Clark); (19) "Itineraries through Logic To Enhance Linguistic and Argumentative Skills" (Giancarlo Navarra); and (20)"Communication in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom: Some Images" (Judith Fonzi and Constance Smith). (ASK)