Exploring teaching academic literacy in mathematics in teacher education

Abstract

Living in complex knowledge societies requires citizens who master multiple literacies involving both cognitive and social skills. Thus, all individuals should be offered relevant educational opportunities and teachers capable of integrating subject expertise with relational aspects. This paper demonstrates a teaching design for mathematics that student teachers have indicated integrates both these dimensions. Drawing on theoretical perspectives that conceptualize academic literacy as a socially situated discourse practice, we investigate one teacher educator's teaching design for mathematics. The evidence indicates that the teaching approaches in this design are highly student centered and process oriented. Student teachers report that the approach supports both individual and collective learning of the discipline of mathematics while also modeling how to teach mathematics as a school subject. The teaching design comprises varied and exploratory approaches to teaching mathematics and represents an alternative to more traditional mathematics pedagogy. In this way, the study contributes to an empirically informed understanding of how the goal of learning to master academic literacy may be facilitated by a varied repertoire of writing, reading, and oral activities. The study indicates challenges for traditional teaching and teacher education more broadly.

Planning for Cultivation Numerical Literacy in Mathematics Learning for Minimum Competency Assessment (AKM) in Elementary Schools

“…In addition, the low ability in critical thinking that students have can be caused by: a learning process that is less effective in developing interests, talents and potential in each student. To increase students' interest in learning, teachers must implement literacy and numeration learning activities pay attention to each student's needs during the learning process, both in terms of media used to develop students' understanding or differences in the use of learning variations that affect the level of understanding (Helstad et al, 2017). In addition to developing questions, teachers must also be able to develop textbooks.…”

Covid-19 as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning Stem Subjects

“…According to Osika et al (2009), teachers who are used to face-to-face teaching sometimes find it difficult to disconnect or to transform from the way in which they were trained to teaching in the new system. Helstad et al (2017) concurred that mathematics and science teachers tend to embrace traditional ways of teaching these subjects where the student is the receiver of knowledge. As a result, they bring their traditional styles of teaching to online teaching, which would appear not to be working (Baran et al, 2011).…”

Exploring In-Class Writing Activities in Teacher Education: A Study of Perspectives on Writing in Literacy Events

“…While the studies outlined above focus primarily on students' challenges in learning the writing conventions and discourses of teacher education, others have explored the role of writing as a learning tool. Researchers have argued that engaging in reflective practice may enhance students' academic reflection and mediate disciplinary learning (see, e.g., Gere et al, 2018;Helstad et al, 2017). Reflective practices may also augment students' thinking about professional practice and strengthen their participation in their own learning processes (Hume, 2009;Mortari, 2012;Neff et al, 2012).…”

“…By investigating in-class writing activities as they unfold in the literacy events, we wish to contribute knowledge to a relatively under-researched area across educational contexts (see, e.g., Blikstad-Balas et al, 2018;Moon et al, 2018). Gaining a clearer insight into teacher educators' uses of and perspectives on in-class writing activities is pivotal to understand the role of such activities in the facilitation of students' development into professional practitioners (Helstad et al, 2017;Solbrekke & Helstad, 2016). Thus, we seek to expand existing knowledge about the roles and functions of writing activities in teacher education classrooms.…”