Discipline-Specific Writing and Assessment

As I have thought about my experiences in mathematics, I have realized that my experiences with writing have been somewhat limited. I say limited due to the fact that writing in mathematics may be considered different when compared to writing in other disciplines. The main type of writing that I have done in mathematics has been mostly numerical when computing and completing assigned textbook problems, tests, and quizzes. The only assignments that I remember having to write in a "standard English" sense (i.e. a paper or report) are a few reports on a mathematician from history and a project on fractals. So, overall, my math teachers in grade school typically encouraged me to express my understanding through numeric problems.

I feel that my experiences with writing in mathematics changed drastically when I entered college and began to complete upper-level course work. Much of the assignments in my classes required written proof, which was something new to me. However, I have come to appreciate the precision that comes from explaining and comprehending the driving forces behind mathematics because of this shift. I think that my professors have encouraged me to express my understanding by thorough investigation and detailed analysis of my work.

I honestly cannot think of any types of expression that I feel would be considered alternative or creative in presentation. However, this aside, I have been learning a lot this semester about how to incorporate technology related activites into the mathematics classroom. I feel that I have learned a lot of different ways that would display student understanding of mathematics in creative and alternative ways. Some of these technologies include math applets, blogs, and screen-cast videos. I have found that most research supports the use of these technologies in the math classroom, as they help to engage students in higher-level thinking, as well as encourage students to become doers of mathematics and make the discipline their own.

As a whole, I feel that most of the assessments that I took at the grade school level were limiting because they usually did not include questions that explored student understanding and comprehension in writing. Most tests were merely computational. I think that the tests that I have taken in college have been a little bit more diverse in this area, but only for certain classes. I feel that it will be important for me to include assessment prompts that ask students to explain how they would go about completing a problem, rather than always asking students to perform a computation. I think that knowing students' thought processes will help me to adapt my teaching to enhance their learning. I also think that I want students to create either a video or an applet of a proof as another type of assessment. I think that these types of assessments will help to educate students in mathematics rather than just train them in the discipline.

Affective Dimensions of Writing

Writing has almost always come naturally for me. I think that I have been able to communicate my thoughts well through writing since I was little. I would consider myself to be a writer, especially since I considered English as my minor for a while. I've always had a knack and a liking for spelling words, and I think this has majorly helped with my writing abilities. Out of the many modes of self-expression, I usually prefer to express my feelings through writing or verbal communication with other people around me.

As a little girl, I think that my main form of recreational writing was encyclopedia reports. This tells you how much of a nerd I really am. I loved to read and learn about different subjects, particularly animals, found in the encyclopedia, and I would write my mom a report about the things I learned about different animals. I also liked to write notes to my friends and my family. I think that with the switch over to a technological age during my lifetime has greatly affected what types of writing I do recreationally as a college student. I think that my main form of recreational writing now is Facebook status updates, blog writing, and texting. I don't really do any of these very much though because I am usually busy doing school work for my classes.

Most of the writing assignments that I can remember enjoying in school are those that had a more narrative style. I think the main reason for this like is the fact that I read more fictional books or books that tell a story compared to strictly informational books. I love history books and encyclopedias and information books, too - I just don't read them as much. I think that most narrative writing is done to tell a story, and that's probably why I like this style the best.

The writing assignments which I usually disliked in school were those that required lots of research (i.e. research papers) and those with a more persuasive style. I disliked having to look up so much information to support my reasonings or arguments. Both of these styles require a lot of time and effort, and I usually felt completely exhausted by the time I had completed the given writing assignment. I have come to have a better appreciation for research writing in college, but I still do not do as well with persuasive writing as I would like. I think that I would rather use persuasion in verbal communication rather than written communication.

I don't think that many people see writing as being a prevalent part of mathematics education. Yet, I think that I will try to incorporate writing in my class as part of my students' pursuit of literacy in all disciplines. Because mathematics is a language in and of itself, I feel that it will be important for my students to write mathematics with symbols as well as in words. I think that doing this will help their understanding of the concepts and relationships found in mathematics.

My like for writing as a student will most likely transfer over to my teaching style. I may implement bell ringers as a form of writing in the classes that I teach. I also think that if I have my students produce a report on famous mathematicians or events in mathematics history that I will give them more than one option as to the writing style of their report. In this way, I can complement the different strengths that my students have as writers. These options would include, but not be limited to, narrative biography, informational biography, (fictional) interview, persuasive essay on why a particular mathematician's discoveries are used or should be used by mathematicians, poetry, etc.