Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective

The research presented in this article reports on the results of a case study examining the classroom practice of one early career Grade 4 teacher (Nox, pseudonym) as she teaches equivalent fractions. The goal was to explore the ways and extent to which her instruction reflected a dialogical teachin...

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Autor principal: Benjamin Shongwe
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: AOSIS 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/0bbe6514f5a24bfd898d3a53f30baaa9
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:0bbe6514f5a24bfd898d3a53f30baaa92021-11-24T07:44:03ZEarly career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective1012-23462223-789510.4102/pythagoras.v42i1.623https://doaj.org/article/0bbe6514f5a24bfd898d3a53f30baaa92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://pythagoras.org.za/index.php/pythagoras/article/view/623https://doaj.org/toc/1012-2346https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7895The research presented in this article reports on the results of a case study examining the classroom practice of one early career Grade 4 teacher (Nox, pseudonym) as she teaches equivalent fractions. The goal was to explore the ways and extent to which her instruction reflected a dialogical teaching approach, defined as a pedagogical approach underpinned by five specific principles that can be enacted through a range of possible talk strategies to achieve sustained participation of learners and thus enhance meaningful learning. I provide a pedagogical activity to illustrate to teachers how, by instigating and developing classroom talk in the primary classes, a dialogic teaching sequence may be implemented. However, the majority of the existing literature on dialogic teaching stems from studies conducted in Asian, European, and North American countries, whereas systematic research on dialogic teaching across international contexts remains limited. Nox was interviewed after obtaining observational data to seek clarity on some of the observed instructional practices. Analysis of transcripts using the notion of dialogic teaching as a theoretical lens revealed that there was little evidence of Nox’s attempts to use talk to make learning of equivalent fractions a cumulative process. In addition, time constraint was the most significant factor in Nox’s teaching of equivalent fractions: she considered the curriculum too congested. Implications are drawn for evaluating dialogic teaching in primary mathematics classrooms. Future, larger studies may shed light on the extent of these results and, if need be, a significant investment on initial teacher training may be necessary to underscore the value of dialogic teaching in enhancing meaningful learning of, at least, equivalent fractions.Benjamin ShongweAOSISarticleearly career teacherdialogic teachingmeaningful learningequivalent fractionsgrade 4generalisationpedagogical toollearners’ ideasMathematicsQA1-939ENPythagoras, Vol 42, Iss 1, Pp e1-e14 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic early career teacher
dialogic teaching
meaningful learning
equivalent fractions
grade 4
generalisation
pedagogical tool
learners’ ideas
Mathematics
QA1-939
spellingShingle early career teacher
dialogic teaching
meaningful learning
equivalent fractions
grade 4
generalisation
pedagogical tool
learners’ ideas
Mathematics
QA1-939
Benjamin Shongwe
Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
description The research presented in this article reports on the results of a case study examining the classroom practice of one early career Grade 4 teacher (Nox, pseudonym) as she teaches equivalent fractions. The goal was to explore the ways and extent to which her instruction reflected a dialogical teaching approach, defined as a pedagogical approach underpinned by five specific principles that can be enacted through a range of possible talk strategies to achieve sustained participation of learners and thus enhance meaningful learning. I provide a pedagogical activity to illustrate to teachers how, by instigating and developing classroom talk in the primary classes, a dialogic teaching sequence may be implemented. However, the majority of the existing literature on dialogic teaching stems from studies conducted in Asian, European, and North American countries, whereas systematic research on dialogic teaching across international contexts remains limited. Nox was interviewed after obtaining observational data to seek clarity on some of the observed instructional practices. Analysis of transcripts using the notion of dialogic teaching as a theoretical lens revealed that there was little evidence of Nox’s attempts to use talk to make learning of equivalent fractions a cumulative process. In addition, time constraint was the most significant factor in Nox’s teaching of equivalent fractions: she considered the curriculum too congested. Implications are drawn for evaluating dialogic teaching in primary mathematics classrooms. Future, larger studies may shed light on the extent of these results and, if need be, a significant investment on initial teacher training may be necessary to underscore the value of dialogic teaching in enhancing meaningful learning of, at least, equivalent fractions.
format article
author Benjamin Shongwe
author_facet Benjamin Shongwe
author_sort Benjamin Shongwe
title Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
title_short Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
title_full Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
title_fullStr Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
title_full_unstemmed Early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in Grade 4: A dialogic teaching perspective
title_sort early career teacher’s approach to fraction equivalence in grade 4: a dialogic teaching perspective
publisher AOSIS
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/0bbe6514f5a24bfd898d3a53f30baaa9
work_keys_str_mv AT benjaminshongwe earlycareerteachersapproachtofractionequivalenceingrade4adialogicteachingperspective
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