E-Example 5.1.3: Communicating about Mathematics Using Games


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Communicating about Mathematics Using Games:
Communication among Students

Playing Fraction Track

The Role of the Teacher

Communication among Students

Reflecting on Practice

Mathematical games can foster mathematical communication as students explain and justify their moves to one another. In addition, games can motivate students and engage them in thinking about and applying concepts and skills. The first part of this example, Playing Fraction Track, contains an interactive version of a game (based on the work of Akers, Tierney, Evans, and Murray [1998]) that can be used in the grades 3–5 classroom to support students' learning about fractions. By working on this activity, students have opportunities to think about how fractions are related to a unit whole, compare fractional parts of a whole, and find equivalent fractions, as discussed in the Number and Operations Standard. In the second part, The Role of the Teacher, two video clips illustrate communication about mathematics among a teacher and her students. This third part, Communication among Students, shows how activities like this allow students to use communication as a tool to deepen their understanding of mathematics, as described in the Communication Standard. In the fourth part, Reflecting on Practice, the teacher reflects on her own mathematical learning that occurs as a result of using activities like this game with her fifth-grade students.

Video Segment

The video clip below shows a pair of students working together to determine the next move in the Fraction Track game. Watch this clip and find instances in which the students seem to be exploring a mathematical idea. Does the communication between the students seem to play a role in their mathematics learning?

QuickTime 4.0 is required for viewing this video clip

Running time—45 sec.
File size—8.9 Mb

Video Transcript
(Click on and drag the text below to scroll.)

Discussion

In grades 3–5 students' abilities to learn from, and work with, others should expand. They should become more skilled in speaking to one another and in convincing or question their peers. The discourse should focus on making sense of mathematical ideas and on using mathematical ideas effectively in modeling and solving problems. When thinking is discussed regularly in the classroom, students feel comfortable describing their thinking, even if their ideas are different from the ideas of their peers. Discourse is not a goal in itself; rather, the value of mathematical discussions should be judged by whether students are learning important mathematics as they participate in them.

Take Time to Reflect

What is the quality of the interactions between the students in this video clip? Is their communication effective?
Is there evidence that the students are listening to each other?
What are the main mathematical ideas?
How can a teacher encourage students in grades 3–5 to speak and write about their mathematical conjectures, questions, and solutions?

Video Credit

WGBH, Boston. "Fraction Tracks." In Teaching Math: A Video Library, 5–8. Funded and distributed by the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project, P.O. Box 2345, S. Burlington, VT 05407-2345, 1-800-LEARNER.