Application of Reading and Writing Program Methodology to Teaching Fractions: A Curriculum Design

Abstract

In 2023, only approximately 26% of New Jersey students passed the state standardized test for Algebra 1, New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) (State of New Jersey, 2023). While many speculate on possible explanations for this predicament, this thesis posits a potential contributor could be the language of mathematics.

The idea of teaching math as a language, although not a new one, is not necessarily straightforward for educators as they often encounter difficulty with connecting students’ lived experiences (including natural language) with symbolic mathematical expressions. It can be arugued that teachers could not have taught math as language because the nature of any natural language did not take definitive form until 1981 when Chomsky established Universal Grammar in Lectures On Government And Binding: The Pisa Lectures.

While it is hard pressed to find math textbooks that have taken the challenge of teaching math linguistically, language arts curricula have. Through language arts that support the development of fluency through spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, students may have opportunities to enhance their thinking and comprehension of what is read, spoken, and written. This thesis project proposes a language arts approach to teaching one topic in mathematics, fraction. The project is a design of a curriculum for a two-week workshop, FracSi, oriented to support ninth grade students’ learning of the language of fraction and their conceptual understanding of fraction concepts.