Learning Math, Teaching Math

A central tenet of the mathematics education reform movement is that mathematical discourse practices such as explaining thinking, conjecturing, analyzing strategies, and justifying solutions are essential component of what it means to do and learn mathematics… There is a paucity of research, however, focusing on English Language Learners’ (ELL) participation in these practices. At a time when 1 in 10 students is classified as an ELL (U.S. Department of Education, 2004), and 42% of all public school teachers have at least one limited English proficient (LEP) student in their classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2003), we see this as a critical void in the literature….