ERIC Number: EJ1201776
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-8251
EISSN: N/A
What You See Is What You Get? Sign Language in the Mathematics Classroom
Krause, Christina M.
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, v50 n1 p84-97 Jan 2019
This Brief Report addresses the fundamental role that sign language plays in the mathematics classroom of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. Selected findings are gathered from an ongoing study of signs and gestures used by DHH students and their teachers when encountering and communicating mathematical ideas at a German special-needs school that focuses on hearing and communication. The focus rests primarily on iconic aspects of mathematical ideas as reflected in the gestural--somatic modality of sign language. A categorization of iconicity in mathematical signs as used by the students is presented and used to reconstruct a case of meaning making in a Grade 5 geometry classroom. Insights gained from these observations lead beyond the DHH mathematics classroom by providing new perspectives on the interplay between language and communication, individual experience, and shared conceptualization.
Descriptors: Sign Language, Mathematics Instruction, Deafness, Partial Hearing, Special Needs Students, Foreign Countries, Special Schools, Role, Grade 5, Middle School Students, Geometry, Special Education Teachers, Grade 6
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-9840; Fax: 703-476-2570; e-mail: NCTM@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/journal-for-research-in-mathematics-education
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Elementary Education; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A