Laura Black

The association between mathematics pedagogy and learners' dispositions for university study

We address the current concerns about teaching‐to‐the‐test and its association with declining dispositions towards further study of mathematics and the consequences for choice of STEM subjects at university. In particular, through a mixed study including a large survey sample of over 1000 students and their teachers, and focussed qualitative case studies, we explored the impact of ‘transmissionist’ pedagogic practices on learning outcomes. We report on the construction and validation of a scale to measure teachers’ self‐reported pedagogy. We then use this measure in combination with the students’ survey data and through regression modelling we illustrate significant associations between the pedagogic measure and students’ mathematics dispositions. Finally, we discuss the potential implications of these results for mathematics education and the STEM agenda.

Mathematics students’ aspirations for higher education: class, ethnicity, gender and interpretative repertoire styles

This paper reports how students talk about their aspirations in regard to higher education (HE) and their mathematics, what ‘repertoires’ they use to mediate this discourse, and how students’ predominant ‘repertoire style’ relates to their cultural background. Our analyses draw on an interview sample (n=40) of students selected because they are ‘on the cusp’ of participation or non‐participation in mathematically demanding programmes in further and higher education. The interviews explored the students’ aspirations for their future in general and HE in particular, influences on these choices, and the place of mathematics in these. Thematic analysis revealed four interpretative repertoires commonly in use, which we call ‘becoming successful’, ‘personal satisfaction’, ‘vocational’, and ‘idealist’ repertoires. Most of the sample was found to use a single, predominant repertoire, which we call their repertoire ‘style’: what is more, this style is found to be strongly related to background factors independently obtained. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Mathematics and Its Value for Engineering Students: What Are the Implications for Teaching?.

Mathematics has long been known to be problematic for university engineering students and their teachers, for example, Scanlan.[1] This paper presents recent data gathered from interviews with engineering students who experienced problems with mathematics and their lecturers during their transition through the first year in different programme contexts. Our interviews with the students reveal how they understand the relation between engineering and mathematics and we draw on the concept of ‘use- and exchange-value’ to explore this relationship more fully. This paper challenges both the pedagogical practice of teaching non-contextualized mathematics and the lack of transparency regarding the significance of mathematics to engineering. We conclude that the value of mathematics in engineering remains a central problem, and argue that mathematics should be a fundamental concern in the design and practice of first-year engineering.

Mathematics coursework as facilitator of formative assessment, student-centred activity and understanding

We seek to illuminate reasons why undertaking mathematics coursework assessment as part of an alternative post-compulsory, pre-university scheme led to higher rates of retention and completion than the traditional route. We focus on the students’ experience of mathematical activity during coursework tasks, which we observed to be qualitatively different to most of the other learning activities observed in lessons. Our analysis of interviews found that these activities offered: (i) a perceived greater depth of understanding; (ii) motivation and learning through modelling and use of technology; (iii) changes in pedagogies and learning activities that supported student-centred learning; and (iv) assessment that better suited some students. Teachers’ interviews reinforced these categories and highlighted some motivational aspects of learning that activity during coursework tasks appears to provide. Thus, we suggest that this experience offered some students different learning opportunities, and that this is a plausible factor in the relative success of these students.

Young children's perspectives on whole class discussions

Whole class discussions are a key feature of daily life in many classrooms yet evidence suggests there is much variation in the quality of talk which takes place in terms of facilitating childrens learning. This paper examines childrens understanding of the role and purpose of whole class discussions in supporting learning and also considers childrens perceptions of their own participation in such discussions. This is based on the premise that effective learning requires children to see themselves as full participants with the right to make active contributions to classroom activities. The paper employs the use of discourse analysis based on the work of Gee (1999) and data is drawn from group and individual interviews with ‘high ability’ and ‘low ability’ children (aged 9–10 years) across three primary schools in England. The findings indicate variations between the cultural models and identities ‘high’ and ‘low ability’ pupils take on in relation to classroom talk which engenders different perceptions of its perceived purpose and benefits.

Peer relations and access to capital in the mathematics classroom: a Bourdieusian social network analysis

Abstract The aim of this article is to explore the structure of social capital in peer networks and its relation to the unequal access of educational resources within mathematics classrooms. We hypothesise that learners can gain access to mathematics through friendship networks which provide more or less help from peers that might sustain (or curtail) their mathematics learning based on a Bourdieusian framework. We report a social network analysis of mutually-recognised helping within friendship groups. This is complemented by observation and interviews that illustrate how different classrooms have different network structures, positioning learners of different ethnic minorities and genders in significantly different ways regarding access to learning. We argue that friendship networks mediate social capital and access to further cultural capital, and that this may help explain structural differences in attainment. Because ethnicity and gender, inter alia, mediate friendship networks, they also mediate access to capital in the classroom.

'She's not in my head or in my body': Developing identities of exclusion and inclusion in whole-class discussions

Whole-class discussions have long been the focus of much research. They are a dominant practice in many classrooms and are, potentially, key sites for fostering children’s learning (Barnes, 1976; Cazden, 2001; Edwards & Mercer, 1987; Wells, 1999). In England, we have seen the endorsement of whole-class teaching within educational policy (Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), 1998, 1999, 2001), not only as a pedagogic tool for standards-based educational reform (Reynolds & Muijs, 1999), but also as a means to achieving inclusivity within an increasingly diverse classroom environment. For example, the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching introduced the notion of interactive whole class teaching, stating that it benefits children who need help to access the curriculum for example low attainers, those with special needs or limited fluency in English, by introducing them to challenging work, teaching them skills in a highly supportive context and raising their expectations and self esteem. (DfEE, 1998, p. 96)

Gendered Positions and Participation in Whole Class Discussions in the Mathematics Classroom

This chapter examines how gendered and classed positions are co-constructed and accessed through participation in whole class discussions in the primary mathematics classroom. Using Holland and Bourdieu, we highlight how forms of participation mark out gendered and classed positions in education and how this is mediated through the exchange of capital which takes place locally in whole class discussions. We present evidence regarding the experiences of two girls, Sian and Erica, who appear to take up/enact the contrasting positions of ‘domestique’ and ‘in need of help’, which we argue, are mediated by their perceived ability and gender. Our aim is to highlight the concept of ‘position’ as a means to understand how local participation (classroom level) is structurally mediated by the educational field – thus giving more or less access to the symbolic capital that success in mathematics affords.