Abstract
The purposes of this study were to investigate the processes and possible problems and effects on mathematics learning when a 9th-grade mathematics teacher utilized action research to integrate mathematics writing into a 9th-grade class. The mathematical writing worksheets, learning diaries, teacher’s reflection diaries, and classroom observations were the sources of data. The results of this study indicated that the problems the teacher met included: increased pressure on students and teacher; increased students’ questioning due to the decreased time devoted to doing math problems; increased questioning from parents due to the diluted instructional time; and increased confusion among high achieving students. However, there was a positive impact on students’ mathematics learning due to the use of a five step strategy used in the study. The positive effects on mathematics learning included students mastering the key points in writing mathematics showing that mathematical writing can help students reorganize, integrate, and connect all kinds of conceptual knowledge and problem solving ability. There was also a positive relationship between mathematics achievement also and mathematical writing. For example, the results of ANCOVA showed a statistically significant difference, on the high school entrance examination, between students who participated in the mathematics writing as opposed to students who did not participate in mathematics writing. This indicates that integration of mathematics writing into mathematics instruction has positive effect on mathematics learning.
| Keywords: | action research; learning attitude; mathematics writing; ninth grade |
|---|
[Chinese Version | Index | Chinese Journal of Science Education | Other Journals | Subscription form | Enquiry ]
Mail any comments and suggestions to
hkier-journal@cuhk.edu.hk .