Open AccessCreating Complexity in the Elementary Mathematics Classroom
Author(s) -
Evan Throop Robinson
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of education and training studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-8068
pISSN - 2324-805X
DOI - 10.11114/jets.v9i3.5129
Subject(s) - mathematics education , conversation , perspective (graphical) , student engagement , pedagogy , elementary mathematics , discipline , action research , psychology , computer science , sociology , communication , artificial intelligence , social science
Complexity thinking provides a unique perspective on classroom interactions, student engagement and classroom management as well as insight into innovative pedagogies for teachers in the elementary mathematics classroom. A novel meeting strategy for classroom organization offers teachers the opportunity to observe complexity in action and to promote student participation through mathematical conversations thereby building the learning community and fostering the discourse of mathematics. The intervention of mathematical conversations created conditions for complexity in an elementary classroom and provided qualitative data for analysis. Transcripts and classroom mapping showed increased student engagement with students afforded more freedom, mobility and choice to host or participate in small-group conversations. An analytic framework indicated three types of conversations emerging: sharing information, building knowledge and exploring possibilities as well as instances of blocking behavior. Findings suggest possibilities for building student capacity for conversation skills, disciplinary integration and differentiating learning significantly for students.