Writing in Mathematics
Students need time to think and write about mathematics on a more personal level. One way to provide them with this opportunity is writing in mathematics journals. Suggested sections in a mathematics journal are: strategies, questions, and reflections (Carter, 2009). Carter describes the use of math journals in her classroom, “At the end of each math activity my students wrote in their journals about the progress they made with the strategies used, questions they still had, or reflections they used to monitor their own thinking” (p. 608). Allowing students to write about and reflect on mathematics is a way to deepen learning and to get a new perspective on the lesson or activity. “Writing is an especially effective way to develop conceptual and higher-order skills---the kinds of skills that have been identified in good readers" (Fuentes, 1998, p. 83).
Other ways to incorporate writing into mathematics is to have students create their own word problems, write descriptions of mathematical processes, or reflect in double-entry journals, which are adaptions of the response journal (Vacca et al., 2011). Double-entry journals can be an excellent way to help students with solving word problems; they “allow students to record dual entries that are conceptually related” (Vacca et al., p. 300). For example, in the right column (as seen in the image in the lower left), students could put their thoughts down as they are working on the problem, and in the left column they could actually work out the problem in a way that reflects thinking processes. There are numerous ways to use double-entry journals in the mathematics classroom.
Promoting Reflection
Mathematics teachers should use strategies that promote application and reflection after a text has been read. One way students can reflect on reading and the organization
of the text is to create a Compare-and-
Contrast Matrix (Vacca et al., 2011).
This outline is used to show similarities
and differences between two or more
things (people, places, events, and ideas). “Readers compare and contrast the target concepts listed across the top of the matrix, according to attributes, properties, or characteristics listed on the left side” (Vacca et al., 2011, p. 327).
Another strategy teachers can incorporate into a middle school mathematics classroom is exit slips. Fisher et al. (2011) explain, “Writing at the close of the class period, even in brief formats, can help students reflect on what they have learned and help prepare their minds for continued learning on the topic” (p. 27). Exit slips are collected to show the student’s thought processes, not for a grade. These can be used in a variety of ways, such as deciding what questions the students might still have over a topic, what they like the most about a lesson, or what needs to be reviewed the following day of class. Exit slips are an excellent way to achieve closure after a lesson.
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Example of a double-entry math journal