Please read the following text and report to your group what Academic Literacy in Mathematics is and why the use of discourse is important on the mathematics classroom.

Designing learning environments to promote academic literacy in mathematics in multilingual secondary mathematics classrooms

William Zahner · Ernesto Daniel Calleros · Kevin Pelaez

1 Introduction

Many emerging multilingual students in US secondary schools have limited opportunities to learn grade-level mathematics. Secondary students classified as English Learners1 (ELs) are often “enrolled in low-track curricula with limited exposure to either the content or discourse necessary to enter into higher education” (Callahan, 2005, p. 321), which causes educational inequities for such students (G.ndara & Contreras, 2009). The Academic Literacy in Mathematics (ALM) framework provides a lens for both analyzing language demands of school mathematics and for designing learning environments in which emerging multilingual students can learn grade-level mathematics (Moschkovich, 2015). One way to develop ALM is through fostering classroom mathematical discussions (Moschkovich & Zahner, 2018). The potential utility of mathematical discussions, and the relative lack of discussions in US secondary mathematics classrooms serving multilingual learners, highlights a need for research on designing mathematics learning environments where emerging multilingual students can benefit from discussions.

1.1 Academic literacy in mathematics

Over the past 20 years, research on language in mathematics has expanded beyond a focus on word problems to include the lexical, syntactic, and discursive aspects of language in school mathematics (Barwell et al., 2017). The ALM framework follows this expansion and includes three interrelated dimensions under the umbrella of academic literacy: (a) developing mathematical proficiencies, (b) engaging in mathematical practices, and (c) participating in mathematical discourse (Moschkovich, 2015). Mathematical proficiencies are forms of expertise, knowledge, and facility for doing mathematics (National Research Council, 2001). In the US context of this research, many emerging multilingual learners experience remedial mathematics classes focused on learning procedures (Kanno & Kangas, 2014), limiting their opportunities to develop other proficiencies such as adaptive reasoning or conceptual understanding. Mathematical practices are culturally organized and socially mediated mathematical activities, such as problem solving, modeling, and proving. Policy documents such as the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics envision students engaging in mathematical practices while learning facts, concepts, and procedures (NGACBP & CCSSO, 2010). Finally, mathematical discourses are ways of using language and other semiotic tools to signal membership within a broader mathematical community (Moschkovich, 2002). The dimensions of ALM are intertwined in teaching and learning (Moschkovich & Zahner, 2018).

1.2 Research aim

One format for developing the interrelated strands of ALM in multilingual classrooms is mathematical discussions (Moschkovich & Zahner, 2018). In the following, we present results from a design research effort with the aim of developing ALM in multilingual secondary mathematics classrooms through fostering mathematical discussions. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the dimensions of ALM framed data analysis, the project-specific design principles, and the unit/ lesson designs. While there is a growing body of descriptive research on language in mathematics, this study fills a gap in the field since there is still relatively little design research on fostering mathematical discussions in multilingual classrooms (Erath et al., 2021). The empirical part of this paper will address the following research questions: RQ1: How was student participation in discussions supported by the lesson design features?

RQ2: How was the development of ALM among multilingual students supported by student participation in discussions?