The multiple voices of a mathematics classroom community

Several mathematics educators have expressed their concern about conflicting visions of educational reform among parents and teachers, which could result in the emergence of multiple voices in discussions of achievement and instruction. The aim of this article is to examine the multiple voices of educational reform in the discourse of a third grade classroom community. In order to achieve our aim, we integrated the social and the individual as well as the past, present, and future in our analysis of the discourse in this classroom community using theoretical frameworks and methods from cultural psychology. Although our analyses focused on the classroom teacher, we employed units of analysis capable of bridging the individual and her social context. We began our analysis by focusing on a sample of whole-class discussions of students’ strategies for solving multi-digit word problems. This analysis isolated two distinct voices: one that occurred during discussions of students’ invented strategies and the other that emerged during talk about standard algorithms. We extended our analysis to include information about the historical, social, and institutional context of the classroom community in order to understand the origins and functions of these two voices. This additional information helped us appreciate the interconnections between the teacher’s personal feelings, beliefs, recollections, and expectations; and her interpersonal transactions with her students, their parents, and other educators. We concluded with a discussion of the implications of the study for understanding one of the dilemmas of educational reform and for advancing research in classroom discourse. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

导之以趣 启之以思 议之以群 动之以情——数学课堂有效教学四策略

课堂教学是否有效就是看学生经过学习之后是否有变化,即新的知识是否理解,新的技能是否形成,方法是否掌握,过程是否经历,情感是否体验,如果这些方面学生都有长足的发展,这节课就是有效的课。如何才能达到这样有效的课堂呢?下面结合北师大版小学三年级数学《找规律》一课教学谈谈我的实践。     

英语专业精读课堂教师用语的实证研究

文章以话语分析理论为基础,通过实际的英语课堂教学观察及对收集数据的定量和定性分析,找出目前英语专业精读课堂教学存在的问题及原因,并提出英语教师课堂话语的改进建议与对策,以实现师生间的持续有效沟通,创设交互式课堂情景,激发学生学习英语的主动性。     

高职数学课堂上进行有效教学的尝试

有效教学是以学生的进步和发展为宗旨,在新课程标准下如何在数学课堂上实现这一宗旨。笔者认为要做好以下三点:一要创设有效教学情境,促进学生自主探索;二要有效激励学生表述,认真倾听及时反馈;三要引导学生有效反思,培养学生理性思维。     

高职数学课堂中师生博弈策略研究

针对职业院校数学课中学生很普遍的逃课行为、课堂教学效果不高、考核质量不理想等现象,教师在教学中尝试和归纳出来一系列师生博弈策略来帮助解决这些矛盾,将这些策略应用于实践当中,收到了比较好的效果。     

Promoting cognitive and social aspects of inquiry through classroom discourse

We investigated how Chinese physics teachers structured classroom discourse to support the cognitive and social aspects of inquiry-based science learning. Regarding the cognitive aspect, we examined to what extent the cognitive processes underlying the scientific skills and the disciplinary reasoning behind the content knowledge were taught. Regarding the social aspect, we examined how classroom discourse supported student learning in terms of students' opportunities to talk and interaction patterns. Our participants were 17 physics teachers who were actively engaged in teacher education programs in universities and professional development programs in local school districts. We analyzed one lesson video from each participating teacher. The results suggest both promises and challenges. Regarding the cognitive aspect of inquiry, the teachers in general recognized the importance of teaching the cognitive processes and disciplinary reasoning. However, they were less likely to address common intuitive ideas about science concepts and principles. Regarding the social aspect of inquiry, the teachers frequently interacted with students in class. However, it appeared that facilitating conversations among students and prompting students to talk about their own ideas are challenging. We discuss the implications of these findings for teacher education programs and professional development programs in China.     

A preliminary discourse analysis of constructivist-oriented mathematics instruction for a student with learning disabilities

Reform efforts in mathematics education arose, in part, in response to constructivist works on conceptual learning. However, little research has examined how students with learning disabilities (LD) respond to constructivist-oriented instruction in mathematics, particularly in moment-to-moment interactions. To understand the nature of constructivist-oriented mathematics instruction involving students with LD, the authors conducted a case study to analyze teacher–student interactions during constructivist-oriented small group instruction involving a student with LD. The student demonstrated, to a certain degree, the ability to reason mathematically when provided with appropriate opportunities and prompting. However, given the limited intervention time, his reasoning and problem solving did not seem to go beyond the semiconcrete level of operation, which may have inhibited his solving of complex word problems with large numbers. Findings indicate that more efforts are needed to support students, those with LD in particular, in their transitions from concrete or semiconcrete to abstract conceptual understanding and problem solving.     

中职语文课堂教学困境归因探究

文章结合教学实际分析了中职语文课堂教学困境产生的原因。     

Developing a professional vision of classroom practices of a mathematics teacher: views from a researcher and a teacher

The term professional vision points to the many nuanced ways professionals see. This paper traces the development of a professional vision of a researcher and a teacher looking at classroom practices. The researcher’s interest was to capture and study notable aspects of the teacher’s practice. Through a coding scheme, disparate classroom events were organized and analyzed to yield a researcher’s professional vision of the teacher’s practices. For the teacher, through reviewing the video records of his own classroom practices, his professional vision provided a basis for him to reflect and develop professionally. Leveraging on the work of the researcher, he initiated and transformed his own practices. Their collaboration yielded a mutually informed development of professional vision of classroom practices. In juxtaposing the two developments, the researcher and the teacher’s views can be contrasted, their distinctive interests highlighted and common grounds explored. Some implications for developing professional vision are drawn, and it is in the common grounds of the teacher’s professional development and seeing with a goal of enhancing of student learning that hold some promise of a mutual interest in developing a professional vision of classroom practices.     

Metaphors of hierarchy in mathematics education discourse: the narrow path

This paper adopts a rhetorical perspective in order to examine language about children in the discourse of mathematics education through a study of metaphor. Previous research has tended to emphasize the notion of ‘beliefs’, which locates responsibility for problematic conceptions of children within the heads of individuals, particularly practising and preservice teachers. Using the notion of metaphor, this paper examines several texts in US mathematics education, including conversations in an elementary classroom, a university mathematics methods classroom, mathematics textbooks, and standards documents. All of these texts draw on the metaphor of children’s learning as travel along a physical path, which supports talking and thinking about children in hierarchical ways. The dominance of this metaphor presents a new challenge for teacher educators concerned with equity: that of examining their own language and practices for hierarchical language.     

Operational,interpersonal, discussional and ideational dimensions of classroom norms for dialogic practice in school mathematics

While research suggests that interactive pedagogy drawing on students’ ideas can improve learning outcomes, it has been found difficult to change mathematics classroom practice in this direction. The reasons for this difficulty remain poorly understood, hindering change at scale. This article focuses on the under‐researched normative aspect of such practice which shapes participants’ actions and expectations. Drawing on theories of social practice and interaction, we define norms as recurrent and socially obligating patterns of, and rationales for, behaviour in a particular social practice. We then examine empirically what and how (new) norms associated with this type of pedagogy are manifest in classroom discursive activity by examining talk across 21 school mathematics lessons by 12 teachers implementing a dialogic intervention. While there is a clear distinction between surface norms and underlying rationales, and a consistent set of surface norms relating to classroom talk can be identified, deeper analysis finds norms to be multi‐dimensional. We illustrate how a surface norm, such as ‘Respect others’ ideas’, can be enunciated in terms of multiple underlying rationales which we term operational, interpersonal, discussional and ideational. Our findings shed new light on why the dialogic intentions of such interventions are often realised in a superficial way. We further examine the ways in which teachers hold students and themselves accountable to the ideational dimension—the dimension that relates to taking students’ ideas seriously in classroom dialogue.     

教师态势语应用的原则和技巧研究

态势语是一种通过人的面部表情、体态动作、服装饰品、空间位置而传递信息的伴随性语言。它同时作用于学生的视觉和听觉,极大地拓宽了信息传播渠道,起到补充信息、沟通情感、集中学生注意力的重要作用。它是整个教学环节不可或缺的重要一环,但在课堂教学多媒体程度越来越高的今天,态势语的运用却有了退化的倾向。因此,为保证教学质量,创设互动课堂,教师应加强态势语表达技巧,提高态势语表达水平。     

谈《百合花》人物语言描写

<百合花>是我国著名作家茹志鹃的代表作,也是我国当代文学宝库中的一件精品.它"笔调委婉和谐,感情真挚淳厚,结构精细严谨,历来为人赞誉".人物语言描写虽然在全文中所占比例不大,但却鲜明生动,恰切传神,具有较强的艺术感染力.     

二外日语课堂教学设计探析

随着世界全球化进程加快,中日关系也越来越密切。日语正成为各高校学生学习二外的首选语言。然而二外日语由于其自身相对于英语的地位,一直以来都没有受到任课教师和学生足够的重视,二外日语教学效果不尽如人意。那么,针对如此众多的学生,如何提高二外日语课堂教学效率呢?在此,笔者结合二外日语教学实践,探讨二外日语课堂教学。     

数学课堂教学德育渗透途径初探

数学揭示了客观世界在数和形方面的规律性,存在着丰富的德育因素。在中学课堂数学中,进行德育渗透的途径主要有：创设问题情境、巧用名人史话、激发学习兴趣、铺设思维阶梯、弘扬学生个性、搭建参与平台、揭示数学美学等。     

试论中学语文课堂提问的有效性

现阶段提倡课堂有效性的研究,而课堂提问是一种最直接的师生双边活动,是课堂教学的主要形式,对提高课堂有效性有着不可忽视的作用。著名教育家陶行知先生说:"发明千千万,起点是一问"、"智者问得巧,愚者问得笨"。本文就如何实现语文的有效性这一问题进行了探讨。     

The interplay of representations and patterns of classroom discourse in science teaching sequences

The purpose of this study is to examines the relationship between the communicative approach of classroom talk and the modes of representations used by science teachers. Based on video data from two physics classrooms in Singapore, a recurring pattern in the relationship was observed as the teaching sequence of a lesson unfolded. It was found that as the mode of representation shifted from enactive (action based) to iconic (image based) to symbolic (language based), there was a concurrent and coordinated shift in the classroom communicative approach from interactive–dialogic to interactive–authoritative to non-interactive–authoritative. Specifically, the shift from enactive to iconic to symbolic representations occurred mainly within the interactive–dialogic approach while the shift towards the interactive–authoritative and non-interactive–authoritative approaches occurred when symbolic modes of representation were used. This concurrent and coordinated shift has implications on how we conceive the use of representations in conjunction with the co-occurring classroom discourse, both theoretically and pedagogically.     

Understanding L2 French teaching strategies in a non-target language classroom context

This research explored the congruence and disparity between teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards French as a second language (L2) teaching strategies in a non-target language classroom context in the USA. The findings suggest students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards the direct and indirect teaching strategies were generally consistent, but not in terms of the collaborative teaching strategies. The findings also indicate that the beginner and elementary level students held different preferences for all the three teaching strategies. The underlying reasons could be learners’ different language proficiency levels, and how well teachers execute these different teaching strategies in class. This study concludes with some implications for foreign language teacher education.     

Effects of a classroom discourse intervention on teachers' practice and students' motivation to learn mathematics and science

Student interest and motivation in STEM subjects has dropped significantly throughout secondary education, for which teacher–student interactions are named as a central reason. This study investigated whether a video-based teacher professional development (TPD) intervention on productive classroom discourse improved students' learning motivation and interest development over the course of a school year. The teachers' intervention group (IG; n = 6) was compared with a control group (CG; n = 4) who participated in a traditional TPD programme on classroom discourse. The teachers showed a significant increase in constructive feedback and decrease in simple feedback as a function of the treatment. Pre- and post-tests revealed that students in the IG (n = 136) significantly increased their perceived autonomy, competence and intrinsic learning motivation as compared with those in the CG (n = 90). They also showed significantly greater interest changes in the subjects compared with their peers in the CG.