Increasing Multilingual Learners' Access in Mathematics

Author:
Jonee Wilson North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Search for other papers by Jonee Wilson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
Erin Smith University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg

Search for other papers by Erin Smith in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Volume/Issue:
Volume 115: Issue 2
Page(s):
104–112
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5951/MTLT.2021.0060
Restricted access
NCTM members GET ACCESS here
Subjects:
Grade(s) or Audience, All grades PK-12, Other Topic, Equity, Principles to Actions, Mathematics Teaching Practices, Research, Linking Research and Practice

Instructional practices are often implemented in attempts to support multilingual learners. We discuss reasons that some of these well-intended practices may be problematic, and we share productive alternatives that we have observed in classrooms that effectively support multilingual learners.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12
Cover Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12

  • Banilower, Eric R., P. Sean Smith, Iris R. Weiss, Kristen A. Malzahn, Kiira M. Campbell, and Aaron M. Weis. 2013. Report of the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Banse, Holland W., Natalia A. Palacios, Eileen G. Merritt, and Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman. 2016. “Five Strategies for Scaffolding Math Discourse with ELLs." Teaching Children Mathematics 23, no. 2 (September): 100–08.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Battey, Dan. 2013. “Access to Mathematics: ʻA Possessive Investment in Whiteness.ʼ" Curriculum Inquiry 43, no. 3 (January): 332–59.

  • Bresser, Rusty. 2003. “Helping English-Language Learners Develop Computational Fluency." Teaching Children Mathematics 9, no. 6 (February): 294–99.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cady, Jo Ann, Thomas E. Hodges, and Clara Brown. 2010. “Supporting Language Learners." Teaching Children Mathematics 16, no. 8 (April): 476–83.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Chval, Kathryn B., Rachel J. Pinnow, Erin Smith, and Oscar Rojas Perez. 2018. “Promoting Equity, Access, and Success through Productive Student Partnerships." In Access and Equity: Promoting High Quality Mathematics in Grades 3–5, edited by Sandra Crespo, Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis, and Marta Civil, pp. 115–32. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Chval, Kathryn B., and Óscar Chávez. 2011/2012. “Informing Practice: Designing Math Lessons for English Language Learners." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 17, no. 5 (December/January): 261–65.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Chval, Kathryn B., Erin Smith, Lina Trigos-Carrillo, and Rachel J. Pinnow. 2021. Teaching Math to Multilingual Students, Grades K–8: Positioning English Learners for Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • de Araujo, Zandra, Erin Smith, and Ji Yeong I. 2021. “Preservice Teachers’ Use of Mathematics Tasks in Relation to Their Experiences with, Goals for, and Beliefs about English Learners." ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education 53, no. 2 (May): 419–33.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • de Araujo, Zandra, Erin Smith, and Melanie Kremmel. 2018. “Moving the Mathematics Forward While Acquiring English." In Access and Equity: Promoting High Quality Mathematics in Grades 3–5, edited by Sandra Crespo, Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis, and Marta Civil, pp. 67–80. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Diamond, Nina, dir./prod. 2017. “The Met 360° Project." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Multiple videos. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Domínguez, Higinio. 2011. “Using What Matters to Students in Bilingual Mathematics Problems." Educational Studies in Mathematics 76, no. 3 (April): 305–28.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • García, Ofelia. 2009. “Education, Multilingualism, and Translanguaging in the 21st Century." In Social Justice through Multilingual Education, edited by Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Robert Phillipson, Ajit K. Mohanty, and Minati Panda, pp. 140–58. Tonawanda, NY: Multilingual Matters.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Gutiérrez, Rochelle. 2008. “A ʻGap-Gazingʼ Fetish in Mathematics Education? Problematizing Research on the Achievement Gap." Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 39, no. 4 (January): 357–64.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hendrickson, Katie A. 2015. “Fracking: Drilling into Math and Social Justice." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 20, no. 6 (February): 366–71.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jackson, Kara J., Emily C. Shahan, Lynsey K. Gibbons, and Paul A. Cobb. 2012. “Launching Complex Tasks." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 18, no. 1 (August): 24–29.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kazemi, Elham, and Kendra Lomax. 2016. “Modeling with Mathematics." The Teaching Channel, May 13, 2016. https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/modeling-with-mathematics.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Meyer, Dan. “Dan Meyer’s Three-Act Tasks." Spreadsheet. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jXSt_CoDzyDFeJimZxnhgwOVsWkTQEsfqouLWNNC6Z4/edit?pref=2andpli=1#gid=0.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Morales, Hector, Lena Licon Khisty, and Kathryn Chval. 2003. “Beyond Discourse: A Multimodal Perspective of Learning Mathematics in a Multilingual Context." International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME), vol. 3, pp. 133–40. Paper presented at the 27th IGPME Conference held jointly with the 25th PME-NA Conference, Honolulu, HI, July 13–18, 2003.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Moschkovich, Judit. 2002. “A Situated and Sociocultural Perspective on Bilingual Mathematics Learners." Mathematical Thinking and Learning 4, no. 2–3: 189–212.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Murrey, Deandrea L. 2008. “Differentiating Instruction in Mathematics for the English Language Learner." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 14, no. 3 (October): 146–53.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). 2016. English Language Learners in Public Schools. Washington, DC: NCES.

  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 2014. Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, VA: NCTM.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). 2010. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Washington, DC: NGA Center and CCSSO. http://www.corestandards.org.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nikula, Johannah, and Courtney L. Nelson. 2014. “Supporting English Learners: Lessons from Research." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 20, no. 1 (August): 30–37.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pappamihiel, N. Eleni. 2002. “English as a Second Language Students and English Language Anxiety: Issues in the Mainstream Classroom." Research in the Teaching of English 36, no. 3 (February): 327–55.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, Erin Marie. 2018. “Facilitating Emergent Bilinguals’ Participation in Mathematics: An Examination of a Teacher’s Positioning Acts." PhD diss., University of Missouri.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, Erin Marie. Forthcoming. “Positioning English Language Learners for Mathematical Success." In English Language Learners: A Social Change Perspective, edited by A. Esmail. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield; Washington, DC: National Association for Multicultural Education.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Thompson, A. G., Randolph Philipp, Patrick W. Thompson, and B. Boyd. 1994. “Calculational and Conceptual Orientations in Teaching Mathematics." In Professional Development for Teachers of Mathematics, 1994 Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, edited by Douglas B. Aichele and Arthur F. Coxford, pp. 79–92.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • “Three-Act Tasks: Modeling Addition, Grades K–2." 2021. The Teaching Channel. Video, 10:00. https://learn.teachingchannel.com/video/kindergarten-math-addition-nsf.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • “Three-Act Tasks: Modeling Subtraction, Grades K–2." 2021. The Teaching Channel. Video, 10:00. https://learn.teachingchannel.com/video/teaching-subtraction-problems-nsf/.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Turner, Erin, Higinio Dominguez, Luz Maldonado, and Susan Empson. 2013. “English Learners’ Participation in Mathematical Discussion: Shifting Positionings and Dynamic Identities." Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 44, no. 1 (January): 199–234.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • “Recorded Field Trip." 2021. San Diego Zoo. Video, 22:00. https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/school-programs/recorded-field-trip.

  • Wilson, Jonee, Mahtab Nazemi, Kara Jackson, and Anne Garrison Wilhelm. 2019. “Investigating Teaching in Conceptually Oriented Mathematics Classrooms Characterized by African American Student Success." Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 50, no. 4 (July): 362–400.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wood, Marcy. 2013. “Mathematical Micro-Identities: Moment-to-Moment Positioning and Learning in a Fourth-Grade Classroom." Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 44, no. 5 (November): 775–808.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
Copyright:
© 2022 by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc.
Page Count:
9
Article Category:
Research Article
Print Publication Date:
01 Feb 2022
Online Publication Date:
Feb 2022