Algebra for All? The Meanings That Mothers Assign to Participation in an Algebra Class

Autor/inn/en	Jackson, Kara; Ginsburg, Lynda
Titel	Algebra for All? The Meanings That Mothers Assign to Participation in an Algebra Class
Quelle	In: Adults Learning Mathematics, 3 (2008) 2, S.10-28 (19 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1744-1803
Schlagwörter	Mathematics Instruction; Low Income Groups; African Americans; Mothers; Elementary School Students; Mathematics Skills; Adult Education; Parent Education; Video Technology; Audio Equipment; Semi Structured Interviews; Coding; Parent Attitudes; Parent Role; Urban Areas; Parents as Teachers; Observation; Questioning Techniques + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Afroamerikaner; Mother; Mutter; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematics ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult basic education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Parents education; Elternbildung; Elternschule; Audio-CD; Codierung; Programmierung; Elternverhalten; Parental role; Elternrolle; Urban area; Stadtregion; Beobachtung; Befragungstechnik; Fragetechnik
Abstract	In this paper, we report on a series of algebra classes with a group of low-income, African American mothers of elementary-aged children who had limited and negative formal experiences with algebra. We drew from United States reform-oriented elementary mathematics curricular materials in the classes. The women initially arrived to the class out of a desire to support their children's learning but over time also engaged in the class for intellectual purposes. We show how their questions and observations, rooted in their experiences with algebra in secondary education and in their children's elementary mathematics, drove our instruction, and how the women shifted their understandings of who can "do" algebra and of algebraic content. We suggest that the shifts they experienced were supported by three sources of meaning-making specific to algebra: "from within the mathematics, from the problem context, and from that which was exterior to the mathematics/problem context" (Kieran, 2007, p. 711). Our analysis suggests the importance of understanding parents as learners and the potential of reform-oriented elementary curriculum for supporting the learning of adults who had negative experiences with mathematics. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Adults Learning Mathematics. 26 Tennyson Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7SA UK. e-mail: editor-i@alm-online.net; Web site: http://www.alm-online.net
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01