2x + 4 = 12

Explain your answer.

These three words have made my mathematics students freeze. I have seen them struggle to formulate their own ideas on the mathematics they are doing. I often get complaints that what we are learning doesn’t make sense. These observations got me thinking about how I could help my students make sense of their math by helping them explain the processes that we are learning. I feel strongly that if I can get students to connect why and how they do math, they will be more successful. This could help them transition from viewing math as a “skill and drill” class to a useful problem solving tool. The process I think that would best allow for this transition is writing their thinking about the processes.

I researched integrating writing in the mathematics classroom. What I found was that writing can lead to improved problem solving skills. In a 2013 study at Texas A&M University, researchers found that “integrating writing into the mathematics classroom can substantially increase students’ mathematics cognition… and helped develop students’ problem solving skills.” They also gave four reasons why writing should be used as a mode of communication in the math classroom:

• Writing allows students to organize their thoughts,
• Writing allows them to gather, interpret and analyze data,
• Writing fosters the development of reasoning skills,
• Writing allows teachers to assess student learning.

For me, this cemented the fact that I should be using more writing in my teaching.

Needing to find a good way to integrate writing in my classroom, I found that there are several ways writing can be used: journaling, writing processes, making up word problems, making class books, and more. I decided what is best for me, and my students will be to write out the process of the problems we practice doing in class. This lead me to my overall question for my research project this year:

Can I help students improve their understanding of mathematics by using procedural writing to improve their thinking?

To answer this question, I needed a plan that could get students past their initial freeze that came with the directions to explain their answer. I came up a simple procedural model that my students could use to write almost any process in class. The students will follow the following template:

First I _____________________, because ___________________________.

Then I ____________________, because ___________________________.

Next I _____________________, because___________________________.

. . .

Finally, I ___________________, because ___________________________.

Perhaps, the most important part of this template is the “because”. What students write after the because will give me insight into their understanding of the material.

I plan to integrate this throughout the year in my Algebra I classes. Algebra I students are learning the foundation of higher mathematics. By having them practice writing about the processes they are learning, it will further their understanding and allow them to be more successful in future math classes. For example, if a student is used to writing out a process and why they do each step, then proofs may be easier to transition to in Geometry the following year.

This will be new to the students, so I plan to do quite a bit of modeling at the beginning of the year. I will devote whole assignments to this process. Once the students get used to the process it is my plan to integrate it into everyday assignments. In every chapter at least one quiz will have a question that asks the student to explain a problem using this template.

I am concerned with the extra time this may entail. I am confident though, that the payoff will be that if I cover less material, students will understand the material I do teach much better. Another concern is if students have poor writing skills, this may detract from actually learning the mathematics. If a student has poor writing skills, it can only be helpful to write more, even if it is not in they way that I intended.

Despite these concerns, I am excited to get started on this journey. I hope it will have a positive impact on the students in my classroom.