Writing in Mathematics

Initially I thought that using writing in a math classroom was a good idea. Since practicum I have always chosen to use math journals in my lesson plans because I think that they are a great way for students and teachers to connect and for teachers to learn about where their students seem to be struggling and excelling. However, I did not think of all of the ways in which writing in the mathematics classroom can be implemented. There are so many other ideas out there for ways which to mix the two things together. It also made me realize that a lot of my professors here at UMF have implemented some of these tactics. In my complex analysis and problem solving class I have to write out what I’ve done to get my solutions to each problem which we are assigned. I think I would be likely to use these techniques in the classroom because they are something which I tend to enjoy. I have worked with peers on my problem solving problems this semester and it drives them crazy that we have to write out all of this work when we can just show it mathematically, but the article is right. It is going to make it more concrete in our brains in the end since we are writing out the process not just doing it monotonously. I think doing that technique is especially useful for us as future teachers. I think it would be beneficial to our students also but as future teachers it makes us really think about what we are doing so that when our students ask questions that for us are simple and easy we have a way to explain to them exactly what we are doing. It will eventually help them follow along with mathematics, especially since so many students feel that math is horrible and hard and confusing.

Citation: Using Writing in Mathematics to Deepen Student Learning.PDF.