Classroom Discourse

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, classroom discourse, the “purposeful exchange of ideas through classroom discussion, as well as through other forms of verbal, visual, and written communications” (NCTM, 2014, p. 29), is a core practice of effective, high quality mathematics instruction. While it is a teacher’s responsibility to create a learning environment that encourages productive or meaningful discourse, that is discourse that promotes mathematical understanding (Anthony & Walshaw, 2009), it has been suggested that teachers need to be provided with formal opportunities or experiences to develop the knowledge needed to facilitate discourse (Speer & Wagner, 2009). These opportunities could be provided through professional development.
The Project Lead (Leading, Empowering, Assisting, and Developing Secondary Mathematics Teachers to Increase Student Achievement) team at the University of North Carolina Greensboro currently participates in the design and facilitation of professional development for secondary mathematics teachers. The Project Lead professional development focuses on increasing teacher content knowledge and assisting teachers in developing ambitious mathematics instruction. By
In order to facilitate meaningful discourse, teachers must be knowledgeable of what discourse is and what it should look like in the classroom. Classroom discourse should revolve around activities that promote students’ reasoning and problem-solving skills that will lead to greater content knowledge. A learning environment that encourages meaningful mathematics discourse and potentially leads to increased student understanding (Windschitl, Thompson, & Braaten, 2008), will be dependent on the ways in which teachers use their knowledge for