Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students
This article examines the nature of oral language and representations used by teachers as they instruct young Indigenous Australian students at the beginning of formal schooling during play-based activities in mathematics. In particular, the use of Standard Australian English (SAE), the mathematical...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22557 |
| _version_ | 1848750903073439744 |
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| author | Blackley, Susan Warren, E. De Vries, E. |
| author_facet | Blackley, Susan Warren, E. De Vries, E. |
| author_sort | Blackley, Susan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article examines the nature of oral language and representations used by teachers as they instruct young Indigenous Australian students at the beginning of formal schooling during play-based activities in mathematics. In particular, the use of Standard Australian English (SAE), the mathematical register used, and the interplay with mathematical representations during classroom instruction are analysed based upon the teachers' selfreported practices. The data are drawn from structured telephone interviews with 40 teachers in 15 schools from rural and remote or multicultural settings in Queensland at the initial stage of a large, longitudinal study. The specific aim of the study was the identification of effective pedagogical practices that may assist young Australian students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to negotiate western mathematical understanding. The findings indicate that despite experience in these settings and focused professional learning sessions, the majority of these teachers report practices which reflect a strong emphasis on literacy acquisition rather than mathematical understanding. It is the contention of the researchers that the use of oral language with a rich selection of mathematical representations strongly supports mathematical understanding. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:44:13Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-22557 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:44:13Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-225572017-09-13T13:58:22Z Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students Blackley, Susan Warren, E. De Vries, E. This article examines the nature of oral language and representations used by teachers as they instruct young Indigenous Australian students at the beginning of formal schooling during play-based activities in mathematics. In particular, the use of Standard Australian English (SAE), the mathematical register used, and the interplay with mathematical representations during classroom instruction are analysed based upon the teachers' selfreported practices. The data are drawn from structured telephone interviews with 40 teachers in 15 schools from rural and remote or multicultural settings in Queensland at the initial stage of a large, longitudinal study. The specific aim of the study was the identification of effective pedagogical practices that may assist young Australian students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to negotiate western mathematical understanding. The findings indicate that despite experience in these settings and focused professional learning sessions, the majority of these teachers report practices which reflect a strong emphasis on literacy acquisition rather than mathematical understanding. It is the contention of the researchers that the use of oral language with a rich selection of mathematical representations strongly supports mathematical understanding. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22557 10.1375/ajie.40.9 Cambridge University Press restricted |
| spellingShingle | Blackley, Susan Warren, E. De Vries, E. Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title | Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title_full | Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title_fullStr | Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title_short | Refocusing on Oral Language and Rich Representations to Develop the Early Mathematical Understandings of Indigenous Students |
| title_sort | refocusing on oral language and rich representations to develop the early mathematical understandings of indigenous students |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22557 |