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ABSTRACT
Teachers of elementary mathematics face multiple, convergent demands. These demands include supporting the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) and facilitating mathematical discussions across relevant curricular contexts. The authors used a comparative case study to examine how two teachers attempt to facilitate discussions while enacting a Calendar Math curriculum, in Grade 4 classrooms with high concentrations (>50%) of ELLs. The authors found that these teachers' use of Calendar Math did not provide a supportive context for conceptually based discussions. However, teachers did support ELLs in mathematical discussions by including display questions, elaborating student responses, modeling the use of mathematical vocabulary use, and use of self-talk. Teachers differed with regard to how often they elaborated responses, used vocabulary, the amount of teacher speech and the length of lessons. We discuss what these practices may mean for ELLs.
Funding
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant #R305B090002 and Grant #R305A070063 to the University of Virginia. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. This work is also supported by a grant awarded from the DuBarry Foundation to the University of Virginia.