Teaching children how to use language to solve maths problems

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Teaching children how to use language to solve
maths problems
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Key issue addressed by the study

• This British study looked at effective ways of
  using discussion among Year 5 pupils to improve
  teaching of mathematics and science
• The study builds on earlier research which showed
  that exploratory talk led to individual
  improvements in pupils test results

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What did the researchers discover about teaching
mathematics?

• When teachers used thinking together lessons it
  led to an increase of 44 in standardised tests
  results
• By comparison, children whose teachers carried on
  normal teaching increased their test results, on
  average, by 26

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What did the researchers discover about the
teachers role in mathematics discussions?

• When teachers were explicit with children about
  how to use language for reasoning as a group, the
  children
• learnt better ways of thinking collectively
• improved their individual thinking skills

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What did the thinking together programme
consist of?

• The thinking together programme was made up of
  12 lessons
• The first five raised the childrens awareness of
  how talk can be used for group work
• The next seven helped children apply these skills
  in learning mathematics

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How were the thinking together lessons
arranged?

• Each lesson was split into three sections
• a teacher led, whole class introduction
• a group discussion activity
• a whole class session to share ideas and reflect
  in the lesson

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What techniques did teachers use to encourage
discussion?

• Whole class discussion sometimes involved simple
  techniques, such as
• allowing children to lead discussion
• using reasoning words, e.g. what, how, if
  and why
• ensuring all children took part

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Example of a teacher helping pupils reflect on
discussion for learning

• Teacher So if I walk around the classroom while
  everybody is talking together in their groups I
  wonder what kind of things might I hear people
  saying?
• Asif What do you think?
• Teacher Thats a good one. Why is that an
  important question, Carl?
• Carl Because you ask someone else their opinion.

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What training helped teachers to implement group
discussion?

• Whole class discussion only worked well when
  teachers received effective training. This
  consisted of
• discussing underlying principles
• engaging in, and reflecting on, problem solving
  activities
• analysing video recordings of childrens group
  discussions

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Ensuring all children participate

• A key factor for success in group discussion was
  impressing on children the importance of ground
  rules, otherwise
• some children dominated while others were quiet
• discussion led to ignoring the task at hand

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How was the study designed?

• 230 Year 5 pupils (109 involved in programme, 121
  in control group)
• Improvements measured over two years using
• Key Stage 2 national results
• analysis of teachers interactions with pupils
• analysis of childrens talk in class

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How can teachers use the evidence in this study?

• There is significant evidence that class
  discussion and group work improved pupils maths
  skills, but if these classes are not well
  organised then discussion may turn into unfocused
  talk on unrelated subjects
• Can you think of occasions when group discussion
  was going well and others when pupils have gone
  off topic or worked in an unfocused way?
• What do you think makes the difference?

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How can school leaders use the evidence in this
study?

• In order to develop and maintain these skills,
  the teachers required additional training.
  Evidence from the control groups made it clear
  that those without the right professional
  development were less successful and their pupils
  made less progress
• What opportunities can you see for developing
  teachers skills in the use of group activity?
• Are there staff in your school or who implement
  effective group work who could model this
  practice?

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Follow-up reading

• Study reference Mercer N Sams C (2006)
  Teaching Children How to Use Language to Solve
  Maths Problems. In Language Education 20 (6)
  pp. 507-528
• Summary available at http//www.standards.dfes.go
  v.uk/research/themes/science/language_science/

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