Social Norms, Sociomathematical Norms, Fractions, Decimals
Social norms are patterns of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation. Social norms can be shared belief of what is normal and acceptable shapes and enforces the actions of people in a society. In the educational classroom, they are characteristics that constitute the classroom participation structure. Sociomathematical norms are fine-grained aspects of general social norms specifically related to mathematical practices. These can include, but are not limited to, a student-centered classroom that includes the expectation that the students should present their solution methods by describing actions on mathematical objects rather than simply accounting for calculational manipulations. For this action research study, my goal was to determine if the role of the teacher would influence the social and sociomathematical norms in a mathematics classroom and in what ways are sociomathematical norms reflected in students' written work. I focused specifically on students' mathematics journal writing and taped conversations. I discovered that students tended to not justify their work. Also, I discovered that my idea of justification was not really justification. I learned from this and was able to change my idea of justification. By encouraging the students to socialize in mathematics class, I found that the quality of their dialogue improved. Students readily discussed mathematical concepts within small groups and whole class discussions.
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Master of Education (M.Ed.)
College of Education
Teaching and Learning Principles
K-8 Mathematics and Science Education
Length of Campus-only Access
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
Nardelli, Marino, "Examining Sociomathematical Norms Within The Context Of Decimals And Fractions In A Sixth Grade Classroom" (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3279.