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A framework for the study of written and spoken discourse: school mathematics in Palestine

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Abstract

The way in which mathematics is communicated and represented in schools (including the written language, symbols and diagrams of mathematics textbooks and the verbal/spoken classroom interaction itself) constructs particular views of the nature of mathematics and expectations about students’ participation in mathematical activity. In a previous article, we developed an analytic framework for examining the nature of mathematics and mathematical activity in textbooks in Palestinian schools and England. Here we extend our analysis to include the verbal/spoken language in two classrooms. To illustrate the application of the suggested framework, we present three cases from a particular social context (Palestine). We analyse an instance of a written textbook for grade 7 and spoken discourse in two classes in grades 5 and 6. We show how studying written and spoken discourse enables us to draw a picture of mathematics, mathematical activities and learning mathematics in schools context.

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Fig. 1

(The English text is taken from Alshwaikh & Morgan, 2013, p. 73)

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Notes

  1. There are, however, some private schools that follow international curricula, such as International Baccalaureate—IB, IGCSE and SAT, with different textbooks.

  2. Kress & Van Leeuwen (2006) and Alshwaikh (2011) distinguish between narrative and conceptual images (diagrams) in which narrative images tell (by showing) a story while conceptual images show atemporal objects or relationships—no actions. Furthermore, conceptual images are more typical of scientific texts.

  3. This raises an interesting further question. If the textbook does suggest a thinker role but the way it is used in the classroom emphasises the student as scribbler/ rule follower there is a contradiction. Further need to investigate use of textbooks in the classroom—how to teachers mediate the parts of the textbook that involve thinking?

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the teachers, students and their school who agreed to video record them. A special thanks to the colleague who did the video recording. Thanks to the Palestinian Curriculum Development Center for its permission to reproduce the text in Fig. 1. The project “Analysing Palestinian school mathematics textbooks” was supported by the British Academy International Partnership and Mobility Scheme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curriculum and Instruction Department, Faculty of Education, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine

    Jehad Alshwaikh

  2. Department of Curriculum Pedagogy and Assessment, University College London Institute of Education, London, UK

    Candia Morgan

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  1. Jehad Alshwaikh
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  2. Candia Morgan
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Correspondence to Jehad Alshwaikh.

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Alshwaikh, J., Morgan, C. A framework for the study of written and spoken discourse: school mathematics in Palestine. ZDM Mathematics Education 50, 1041–1051 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-0970-0

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