Writing Has a Place in a Mathematics ClassAuthor(s): Margaret WatsonSource: The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 73, No. 7 (October 1980), pp. 518-519Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27962135 .

Accessed: 13/09/2014 08:35

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Mathematics Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 71.4.163.254 on Sat, 13 Sep 2014 08:35:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Land, Frank. The Language of Mathematics. Garden

City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1963.

Niven, Ivan. Mathematics of Choice or How to Count

without Counting. New York: Random House, 1965.

Olds, C. D. Continued Fractions. New York: Random

House, 1963.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Aaboc, Asger. Episodes from the Early History of

Mathematics. New York: Random House, 1964.

Boyer, Carl B. A History of Mathematics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1968.

Eves, Howard. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics. 3d ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart &

Winston, 1969.

Grossman, Israel, and Wilhelm Magnus. Groups and Their Graphs. New York: Random House, 1964.

James, Robert C. Mathematics Dictionary. 3d ed.

Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand, 1968.

Johnson, Donovan A., and William . Glenn. Ex

ploring Mathematics on Your Own. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960.

Kasner, Edward, and James Newman. Mathematics and the Imagination. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967.

Kline, Morris. Mathematics: A Cultural Approach. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1962.

Kramer, Edna E. The Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1970.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. En richment Mathematics for High School, Twenty eighth Yearbook of the NCTM. Washington, D.C.: The Council, 1963.

-. Historical Topics for the Mathematics Class

room, Thirty-first Yearbook of the NCTM. Wash

ington, D.C.: The Council, 1969.

Writing Has a Place in a Mathematics Class

I had always believed writing had no

place in a mathematics class. But, after par

ticipating in the Oklahoma Writing Project workshop, I feel that a mathematics teacher must make a place for writing. The vehicle

for applying this technique is journal writ

ing. After explaining to my second-year al

gebra classes how to solve a quadratic equation by completing the square, I asked

them to write a paragraph. They were in

structed to begin, "Today in algebra 2 we

learned to complete the square," and then to explain how to complete the square.

The students seemed to feel an air of ex

citement in the classroom, as shown by this

excerpt from one of the journals. "... in a

dynamic change of pace, showed us how in a new manner, to complete the square. First you have to remember that... and

(Ta-Da!) you have a perfect square, tri

nomial."

Many students were surprised at how well they could write the explanation; oth ers were surprised that they could not do it

correctly. This revelation caused them to

study harder. The next day the journals were returned

with a personal comment on each of them.

The students voiced surprise that each one

had been read and answered. After going over the assignment, which was to give them practice in completing the square,

they were asked to write again. This time

they were to start with, "The problem I had

with completing the square was ..." Based on their journals, I was able to answer their

individual questions. Again all the journals were read and returned with comments.

My remarks were personal and encourag

ing and addressed the particular problem indicated in each journal.

A few days later when I was busy at the

beginning of class with some routine

things, I gave the students another oppor

tunity to write journals. This time no topic was given. I expected a sentence or two

about various things, but in a few minutes

they each wrote a page or two. Surprisingly all but one wrote about second-year al

gebra and other school-related topics. The

journals were full of their feelings and their

problems. Again each one was read and

answered.

This two-way conversation has been

beneficial to the class. The students realize

I hear them and care. They seem to have

looked inside themselves and to have seen

518 Mathematics Teacher

This content downloaded from 71.4.163.254 on Sat, 13 Sep 2014 08:35:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

what they could do to help solve their mathematical problems. Many of their

grades improved. I will continue to give my second-year

algebra classes opportunities to do journal writing. Lead sentences such as "This is how to ...," "The problem I am having with...," and "My feelings about ...," will often be given. However, opportunities will be given, also, for students to write about whatever they choose. Time can be found after tests are completed, during roll check and routine activities at the begin ning of the class period, and at other times as enthusiasm is generated for journal writ

ing. A small amount of time is involved in

reading the journals and writing the com ments.

Margaret Watson Duncan High School

Duncan, OK 73533

-Q ̂ _1 "O"

-OC

Report on Problem-solving Courses Planned

A subcommittee of the Mathematical Association

of America (MAA) Committee on the Teaching of Undergraduate Mathematics plans a survey of prob

lem-solving courses in mathematics at the secondary and undergraduate levels. Its chair, Alan Schoenfeld, says that the job of the subcommittee is to prepare a

report that?

1. describes the "state of the art" in problem-solving courses;

2. lists available resources for teaching problem solv

ing (and possibly creates some such resources); and

3. makes recommendations regarding a. the place of problem solving in the curriculum

and

b. ways to teach it.

The subcommittee plans to distribute a questionnaire to persons teaching problem-solving courses. If you are teaching such a course, or know of someone who

is, please let them know; if you have ideas as to what

should be on the questionnaire, about useful re

sources, or about possible contributions the sub

committee might make, please get in touch. Contact

Alan H. Schoenfeld, Mathematics Department, Ham

ilton College, Clinton, NY 13323.

This content downloaded from 71.4.163.254 on Sat, 13 Sep 2014 08:35:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions