Field Based Interviews

I have come to find out that the middle of March is an insane time for teachers; students are going every which way, teachers have meetings coming out of their ears, and there is no break to catch up. I had scheduled interviews with three different teachers at all different schools and I was only able to follow through with one of them. I tried waiting to see if they could do it with me later but it turns out that April is just as bad. Spring is upon us and I firmly believe that this makes it one of the hardest times of the year to productively run a classroom.

The teacher that I was able to talk with is a first year teacher here in Cache Valley. She is teaching 9th grade mathematics and sees the need for literacy everywhere within her teaching. She requires her students to explain their reasoning and write out responses to prompts. "Students HATE having to read and write in a math class. They complain that this isn't English class, so they shouldn't have to do English. Very few students understand just how much literacy is used in almost everything, including math." Even with this response from students, she continues to strive for literacy to be a part of her instruction and her students' learning.

She looks to improve literacy in her classroom through direct instruction of mathematical vocabulary. Not only is it important that students know what mathematical terms mean, it is equally important to expect students to use those terms correctly. Through vocabulary instruction, she hopes that students will begin to understand that mathematics is not a mystery that just happens, rather is a precise science.

She intentionally picks assignments for students that use their literacies. For example, she recently assigned an activity where students had to determine what the dependent variable was and defend their answers. Students struggled with this assignment. In her reflection, she believes this is because students were actually asked to THINK. They had to read, write their answer and their reasoning behind their answers. Another assignment that she is contemplating is an essay on a topic in the history of mathematics at the end of the semester.

Between the lines, I think she believes that intentionally using literacy is beneficial for the students. Not simply for their use of literacy but mostly so that students will gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics they are learning. You can't use mathematics productively without literacy.

From talking with her about literacy in a mathematics classroom, I further understand how important it really is. I was one of those students that she was talking about that complained when we had to read or write in math because it certainly wasn't an English class. It makes me wonder if those students don't want to do more work or if they struggle with reading and writing as I did. I now know that communicating mathematics and the principles behind the mathematics is extremely important. The way to achieve this communication is often using literacy and therefore literacy is extremely important.