Developing teacher capacity to explore non-routine problems through a focus on the social semiotics of mathematics classroom discourse

Abstract

This paper reports on a research project exploring the social semiotics of mathematics teaching and learning in urban middle schools. Participating teachers attended a Lesson Study Group that focused on the linguistic and diagrammatic challenges of framing and solving non-routine mathematics problems. This paper describes key social semiotic concepts explored with the teachers during the lesson study activities, focusing on the complex conjunction of the mathematics register and everyday language. We use examples from the participants’ classrooms to show the relevance of these concepts in studying classroom discourse, focusing in particular on the complex conjunction of diagramming and language.

Keywords:

• social semiotics
• non-routine problem solving
• urban
• discourse
• language
• diagrams

Notes

1. For a discussion of the ways that culture functions as ‘noise’ in stereotypical word problems purposely manufactured so as to claim to be about the real world, see Lave (1992).

2. 23 of the 28 students in Bonnie's class were English language learners.