Talk in Mathematics classes in Singapore

Hogan, D., Rahim, R. A., Chan, M., Kwek, D., & Towndrow, P. (2012). Understanding classroom talk in secondary three mathematics classes in Singapore. In B. Kaur & T. L. Toh (Eds.), Reasoning, communication and connections in mathematics: Yearbook 2012, Association of Mathematics Educators (pp. 169-197). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Background

Previous studies have indicated that in classrooms worldwide, teachers dominate talk with the sequence of Initiate (by the teacher), Response (by the student) and Evaluation (by the teacher) (IRE) predominating. Data has shown that this is as true of the Singapore classroom as that of any other country. However, the use of the sequence has been criticized as it limits the contributions from students to simple, often factual, responses, i.e. purely performative talk. However, Singapore’s students do well in international tests of mathematics and the authors believe that there could be IRE sequences that are not simply performative in nature.

Aims

The authors seek to establish if other types of talk are apparent in Singapore maths classes using the IRE sequence. While performative talk simply tests knowledge, procedural talk deals with the understanding of ‘how’ students complete a process and conceptual talk involves clarifying meaning, offering reasons and explanations, etc.

Sample

The authors surveyed over 1,000 Secondary 3 students from a representative sample of 30 schools in Singapore regarding the questions asked in class.

Method

The authors categorized the questions into performative, procedural and conceptual. They did correlational, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses.

Findings

The authors felt that the analyses offered support to their belief that the IRE sequence was also used to ask questions that would result in procedural and conceptual talk as well as performative talk. They believe that, while the latter may be used to initiate the discourse, it can then lead to other forms of talk as suggested by the students’ survey responses. This might then help explain the success of Singapore students in international testing. This could only be confirmed by further studies such as the class observations they propose.

Implications

While the talk in Singapore classrooms might allow for procedural and conceptual talk, it did not mean that the situation could not be further improved. The authors believed the quality of talk could be improved with teachers’ understanding of the varying roles of talk as represented by performative talk, procedural talk and conceptual talk.

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