The Current Status of Literacy in Mathematics - Research Paper Example

The Current Status of Literacy in Mathematics Education has been important to people around the world because it allows them to know more about their surroundings from fellow people to environment and technology. It has been set-up from the general principles of the fields of endeavor to specialized knowledge. In addition, the knowledge is transformed into practice through applications of the principles. The true potential of the knowledge is seen only through continuous efforts in applying them to reality. Despite of the application as the important factor in education, knowledge remains to be a fundamental part as it provides the foundation for people to practice their own calling or profession. It means that a significant portion of profession gives importance to literacy. People can only function to the extent of what they know. It also shows that research on education is very important. Research is done to improve the literacy and education globally. It has also recognized the recent developments in technology that allows the information to be disseminated in a wider scope using the internet. It has bloomed the concept of interconnectedness which has significantly improved the business, work and overall living of people worldwide. In short, it can also be used to improve the education system. The same interconnectedness has also been known across fields of specializations and body of knowledge. For example, science can be used in music which means systematic ways of doing things in making songs may entail the use of both science and music. Some may even use music in learning the subject matter like in language. Singing can be used to easily remember the important concepts like a song on nouns for a language class. The aforementioned paragraph has shown how subject areas are interconnected. It shows how important education is and it brings in various perspectives on how to tackle literacy. For the matter of the paper, language would be explored especially the reading area in the effectiveness of math class. The essay would deal with reading and its positive effects in learning mathematics. Literacy has been connected with learning and education although its roots can be traced back in the concept of language. In the present, is has been synonymous with the level of understanding in certain subject areas like science, math and many more. In addition, it also contains the understanding of the vocabulary, form, sound and the meaning behind the terms and concepts presented in a certain subject area (National Institute of Literacy 3). Since literacy has been connected to language, it can be applied to the content of mathematics. For example, a branch of mathematics called geometry may need the language and literacy to improve its standards. Its content may deal with the geometrical terms. Having the shapes and concepts in geometry may be hard to deal with for some students. To improve it, the use of songs may be used to understand the terms and connect them with their respective elements. Some literacy games may also be done to connect the right terms to the right elements. Another goal would be the analysis of the characteristics of shapes in two dimensions and three dimensions which can be done through the use of technology-based applications or software. The same goes with the content of the shapes when they are needed to be compared like understanding how two shape are the same or different. They can also be classified with the aid of the software like computer games and shape-modeling software (Brozo 160). It shows how important to improve the content through literacy like words and terms and even use the technology for learning. Content plays the key role in learning certain subject matter so it is very important to focus on it. It contributes greatly in comprehension of the learners about particular subject matter (Conley 5). Learning is really affected by the quality of the content and how it is delivered. It is really applicable to mathematics. For instance, writing can boost the learning abilities of the students in mathematics. Some may look at it as non-sense because traditionally, people have been accustomed to separate the subject areas and never look at their interconnection. It has been said that writing can enhance the learning of students in math by reflecting, understanding, constructing, and even organizing their ideas about particular concept (Burns 40). Math is not always about numbers because the students need to process the information by thinking about them through words and terms that they associate to the mathematical concepts. It may also deal with the written output as basis of the educators as to what and how the students absorb the subject matter (Burns 40). Literacy has not been limited to writing in math but there are also other elements that should be considered. For others, they may consider math to be the process of using numbers, operations and symbols that are understood using the corresponding terms and the students express those number operations with the use of words especially writing (Franz 3). Some may even look at the math literacy through vocabulary, comprehension and sound recognition but theorists and education experts have go beyond those anticipations as they look at the details like in the case of connecting the words through the understanding of mathematical operations. Literacy in mathematics also expresses the importance of reading because it is not only words that are involved in math. It is important to understand the substance and the meaning of the terms and symbols used. For instance, the term function has various meanings but it gets a specific definition once it has been limited to the field of mathematics. The same goes with the angle and other symbols like greater than or less than. They have specific meanings once they are read in the context of mathematics (Franz 8). Then, it is even supported by various studies by experts that state how specialization in understanding the meaning of terms is required to increase the learning capabilities of the students within the scope of the subject matter and perform the necessary tasks based on the concepts (Conley 22). In short, it shows how literacy and language processes are important in math to support the equations being tackled. By distinguishing the concepts through terms in math like parts of the equations, functions and other mathematical processes, students may be able to fully understand those concepts and proceed with the analysis and problem-solving. It may also involve the importance of vocabulary because the meaning of a term may have different definitions in various contexts (Baumann and Graves 4). Solving math problems and expressing competencies in the subject area requires more than just knowing the figures. It is really addressed by the literacy which encompasses vocabulary, phonetics and comprehension of the context. It entails the importance of perspectives in using the formulas and numbers which goes beyond the outside appearance of the numbers as symbols. It means that literacy helps in going deeper into the values and meanings beyond those numbers and figures. It is within the students to recognize those so they can process the mathematical equations effectively. Educators have found the efficiency and effectiveness of going beyond the usual norms in teaching and learning math as they may connect it to writing. Students may practice their writing skills in math like explaining how they understand the processes involved in particular math concepts and equations. It should go beyond the showing of the solutions in figures (Burns 4). In that way, educators will be able to really know the thought process of their students and evaluate them more effectively. In addition, it also strengthens the understanding by having a repetitive reinforcement when it comes to concepts so the students can easily remember them. It can be more effective than writing and saying the equations alone. The claims above have been supported by experts as writing enforces the students to deepen their understanding of the mathematical concepts through communication. It goes beyond the verbal ways of expressing the numbers and concepts as writing also allows the students to show their insights on paper in the particular subject matter (Public Schools of North Carolina 3). They feel the engagement when they do the studying and learning and maximize the opportunity to grasp the concepts more than they use to. It is true since writing is considered a holistic approach to learning. The students are engaged when they write which entail many benefits in the process of doing it. It stimulates the minds of the learners to think, allows practice of language, improves understanding, develops writing style, improves social construction, boosts learning and gets quicker response to instructions (Public Schools of North Carolina 4). Other than the aforementioned benefits of language and literacy to mathematics learning, there are other reasons to use it in learning the numbers. Despite of the traditional mode of learning in math as a subject area being dealt with alone, experts have found out the benefits of doing the exercises by groups as the learners establish connection with the other students (Urquhart 6). In short, collaboration is the key to boosting the learning experience of math students. Writing has also improved the path to learning in math as students can internalize the subject matter (Urquhart 6). The paper has found out how the integration of language especially writing in the context of mathematics can boost the understanding and learning experience of students. Literacy has been defined in the paper traditionally as it has been connected to language comprehension and fluency. Probably the findings can add to the improvement of the math curriculum in the schools around the world for a 21st century way of learning the numbers. Work Cited Baumann, James and Michael Graves. “What is Academic Vocabulary?” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 54.1: 4-12. Print. Brozo, William. Supporting Content Area Literacy with Technology: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners. USA: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print. Burns, Marilyn. “Writing in Math Class.” Instructor Magazine April 1995: 40-47. Print. Conley, Mark. Content Area Literacy. USA: Pearson, 2008. Print. Franz, Dana. Supporting Struggling Readers in Mathematics Education. USA: Apex Learning, 2009. Print. National Institute for Literacy. What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. USA: Department of Education, 2007. Print. Public Schools of North Carolina. Writing Across the Curriculum: High School Teacher Hand Book. USA: Department of Public Instruction, 2003. Print. Urquhart, Vicki. Using Writing in Mathematics to Deepen Student Learning. USA: McRel, 2009. Print. Read More