The viewpoints of languaging in sixth grade students' solutions for verbal tasks

Abstract

The article examines the solutions produced by pupils to two problem solving tasks at the end of the sixth grade. The study was conducted by a teacher who is familiar with mathematical thinking and languaging. Sixth grade students (n=35) participated in the study. The research material consisted of the students' written solutions for two problem solving tasks. Pupils described their own mathematical thinking in both new tasks and in the solution processes. The results show that students had the skills to language their mathematical thinking in many ways. In mathematics teaching, it would be good to guide students to express their mathematical thinking in a versatile and accurate way by means of language.