Kindergarten students' exploratory math talk within a collaborative discourse community

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: This qualitative teacher research study examined what is revealed in Kindergarten students' exploratory math talk. In addition, classroom discourse was analyzed to provide an understanding of the social context affecting the research. Three data collection methods were employed, including audio recordings, video recordings, and observations. Participants were twenty-two students in the teacher researcher's classroom from a large Midwestern urban school district. Data were analyzed to reveal trends in the classroom discourse.

Findings and Conclusions: A central research finding was that the majority of exploratory talk was related to mathematics, specifically to number and operations. Other mathematical concepts were found to a lesser degree. A primary conclusion was that students relied on their understanding of number to solve problems. Additionally, analysis revealed students exchanging ideas with others, struggling to form their thoughts while speaking. These articulations were difficult to understand at times and were often accompanied by gestures and the use of fingers. As ideas were exchanged and challenged, the students' own thinking was modified, suggesting a deeper understanding of the concept. Supporting these exchanges was an evolving collaborative environment as evidenced by the social norms. The teacher acted as an inquiry guide, stepping in and out of the discourse to support the students' dialogue. The researcher concluded that exploratory talk promoted the construction of a collaborative discourse community ripe with mathematical learning.

This research may be of interest to other educators as it portrays a journey of change--of putting into place constructivist theory into the real world of the classroom. Old behaviorist norms had to be overturned and were still found in some of the discourse. As the teacher and the students struggled with transformation, an emergence began--one that revealed the interplay between students' individual mathematical development intertwined with the social activity of mathematics. Supporting this emergence was the framework of exploratory talk which enabled the teacher to provide opportunities for students to exchange ideas, challenge, and modify their existing thinking.