Abstract:

Throughout their schooling path, students are expected to develop various mathematical transversal skills, including problem-solving and communication. When students communicate their solution process to a given task, teachers are provided with a way to access students’ thinking and adapt teaching accordingly. Considering problem-solving and communication as two interconnected sides of the same coin, the solution of a mathematical problem can only be achieved if the solver’s thinking is adequately communicated. This study, which is part of a larger research project, aims to understand how students in an 11th-grade class appropriate and integrate assessment criteria to improve their written mathematical communication when solving mathematical problems.

Two questions guided the study:
(i) How do students appropriate the assessment criteria focused on written mathematical communication in problem solving? and
(ii) How do they integrate them in improving their written mathematical communication in problem solving?

Following a qualitative and interpretative approach, this study is based on a pedagogical intervention centred around three problems which students solved in two phases. The first phase comprised not only the solution to the problem but also the application of a set of assessment criteria focused on relevant aspects of written mathematical communication in problem solving. After receiving feedback from the teacher, students were given the opportunity to improve their work in the second phase, in class. At the end, they received feedback on the entire process. Data were collected through field notes from participant observation in the classroom, students’ productions and the teacher’s feedback. Results suggested that the use of assessment criteria can contribute to improving students’ written mathematical communication skills in problem solving; however, this use appears to be more effective when accompanied by teacher feedback. Students used the assessment criteria as a guide for their solutions and as a strategy for checking and correcting their work.

Keywords:

Written mathematical communication, problem solving, assessment criteria, self-assessment, assessment for learning, feedback.