Using Transactional Reading Strategies to Support Sense-Making and Discussion in Mathematics Classrooms: An Exploratory Study

In this study we explore the potential for mathematics instruction of four reading strategies grounded in transactional reading theory. On the basis of the descriptive study of 18 instructional episodes developed in 4 secondary mathematics classes as a result of collaborative action research, we show that encouraging mathematics students to talk, write, draw, and enact texts can provide them with concrete ways to construct and negotiate interpretations of what they read. In addition to helping students better understand the text read, acting on and acting out a text allow students to use that text as a springboard for sense-making and discussion of important mathematical ideas and issues about the nature of mathematics, especially when these reading experiences are supported by compatible classroom norms and values.