One year project, 2007
Tamsin Meaney, Senior Lecturer, University of Otago
  

Project aims

• To document what written mathematical genres are currently being used by students and identify the linguistics features that are associated with the different genres.
• To explore ways to improve students mathematical writing. This would include investigating different pedagogical approaches as well as considering what other genres could be used effectively in mathematics.

  
Project plan

Children’s mathematical writing will be collected. Teachers with the researchers will categorise the writing samples by identifying those that are serving a similar function. The linguistic features for each of the genres will then be documented. Other possible genre types would be discussed. Professional development around writing in mathematics will then be done with teachers. The teachers will then use these ideas to help plan a unit of measurement. This unit will then be videoed. The lessons will be transcribed and the students’ writing samples collected. Teachers will then investigate with the researchers the impact of the changes that they have made to their mathematics teaching on the students’ writing.
  

Partnerships involved

This is a partnership between the teachers at Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Koutu, Tamsin Meaney at the University of Otago and Tony Trinick at the University of Auckland. Uenuku Fairhall, principal of Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Koutu is also one of the primary researchers for this project.
  

Expected outcomes

• Descriptions of a range of mathematical genres found in Māori immersion classroom. As the kura runs from Year 0 to Year 13, samples of the different genres across the year levels will also be included in this description.
• Better understanding of the ways to support mathematical writing in the different year levels.
    

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