Date of Award
5-2020
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education/Leadership in Urban Schools
First Advisor
Zeena Zakharia
Second Advisor
Patricia Krueger-Henney
Third Advisor
Tricia Kress
Abstract
Current research shows that nearly all states are struggling to meet the academic target in mathematics set in 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) for multilingual English learners (ELs). According to NCTM standards, ELs are expected to learn mathematics regardless of their English development level (ELD). However, one of the many factors contributing to the learning difficulties of ELs is that the current culture of U.S. public schools does not consider these students’ sociocultural and historical experiences with math knowledge. Another inhibiting factor is that math is about more than just numbers; mathematics education involves terminology, concepts, and oral and written language around problem comprehension and solutions, including the basic language used by math teachers. ELs also use translanguaging (García & Kleyn, 2016) as a tool for triangulating and gaining access to their linguistic repertoire for comprehension of the subject, thereby increasing their success in mathematics classrooms. This qualitative ethnographic case study seeks to understand the role of translanguaging in the mathematics learning of ELs in an English-only math setting. Using a Vygotskian cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) lens, the study seeks to uncover the potential of translanguaging as a viable strategy for achieving the high standards that NCTM has set for all learners of mathematics.
Recommended Citation
Coker, Mustapha K., "How do Emerging Bilinguals Learn Math?: The Role of Translanguaging in an English-Only Middle School Mathematics Classroom Setting" (2020). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. 567.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/567
Comments
Free and open access to this Campus Access Dissertation is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this dissertation through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link above.