Currently, I am reading Argument in the Real World by Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks. The authors argue for using social media to help students develop their skills in writing digital arguments. These skills are necessary to see students move from consuming content online to creating their own content. Creating content requires students to be able to express their ideas clearly and be able to defend them.
Turner and Hicks (2017) state that “practicing the moves of argument–with both print and digital writing–will help students become more proficient as critical thinkers” (p. 14). Some of the “moves” that Hawley Turner and Hicks discuss in their book include: using images to both make claims and provide evidence, using evidence to support claims, formulating counterclaims, and choosing design elements to reinforce the ideas a writer is trying to communicate. As a former math teacher, this made me wonder how writing, digital writing in particular, could be used to promote critical thinking in the math classroom. How might a digital medium like blogging be used to develop critical thinking skills? What does research say about the role of writing in the math classroom?
Current Standards
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) views communication as integral to learning mathematics. NCTM (2000, p. 60) states in its Communication Standard that
Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to–
- organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through communication;
- communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others;
- analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking and strategies of others;
- use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely.
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics include Standards for Mathematical Practice. These standards list activities that students should be engaging in across all levels of mathematics. One of the standards specifies that all students should be able to “construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010, p. 6). This standard proposes that students at all grade levels “can listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010, p. 7). In the video below, NCMT (2015) provides examples of what this standard looks like in action in the classroom.
Using Blogs as a Medium for Critical Thinking and Reasoning
Given the importance of communication in learning mathematics, blogs seem suitable for students to organize their thoughts and communicate their mathematical thinking. With the ability to comment on posts, students also have opportunities to critique the reasoning of others and justify their thinking. Through their writing, students practice using mathematical language to attend to precision when expressing their ideas. Cooper (2012) characterizes blogs as “a prime location for students to use writing to create depth of understanding, record their thinking, and communicate with peers or the instructor” (p. 80).
Turner and Hicks (2017) discuss how images can be used as evidence when making claims. Blogs allow students to incorporate images, graphic organizers, video clips, and visual aids into their writing.
Using digital tools, like Desmos, students can incorporate their own images that model their understanding of a specific problem. Using this type of media increases students’ ability to express their mathematical ideas and justify their reasoning (Cooper, 2012).
Depending on the age of the students, blogs could be opened up to others outside of the classroom. For example, an actuary could be invited to respond to students’ blog posts in a statistics class at the high school level. This would definitely motivate those students who ask, “When will we ever use this?” Opening up blogs to people outside of the school would be trickier with younger students, where the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) comes into play.
Used correctly, blogs allow students to take ownership of their learning because they can express what they do and do not know. They can ask questions and receive feedback. Blogs can provide students a space to continue to think and reflect on problems outside of the classroom. This could be a game changer for students who need extra time to process and reflect. Blogs could also serve as a type of digital portfolio where students have a written record of their thinking and how their understanding changes over time.
Challenges
There is no doubt that blogs have the potential to be an excellent communication tool to help students develop the ability to express and defend their ideas clearly and justify their reasoning. The main challenge I see with using blogs deals with time. Teachers will need time to become comfortable with using blogs so that they can guide students in setting up their blogs.
Students will also need time to become comfortable with creating blogs and appropriate ways of sharing their ideas and critiquing others. They will need time to slow down and think about how they want to formulate their ideas. Students will also need time to read and formulate their critiques when responding to their peers’ blog posts. However, this investment of time would reap great rewards as students become better critical thinkers.
The other challenge I can see with using blogs in the classroom deals more with classroom management. Some students can be easily distracted while using computers. The temptation to open up other tabs and get off-task is a problem for some students. Just as they would with any use of technology, teachers must be vigilant in supervising students and helping them to remain on task.
References
Cooper, A. (2012). Today’s technologies enhance writing in mathematics. The Clearing House, 85(2), 80-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2011.624394
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common core standards for mathematics. https://learning.ccsso.org/common-core-state-standards-initiative
Federal Communications Commission. (2019, December 30). Children’s Internet protection act. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2015, April 10). Standards for mathematical practice [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQI-CyXqc0&t=426s
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts.
Ed Tech Wolfe 
Hi Kevin
I love the graphics you chose. The colors are eye catching. I immediately wanted to read your blog.
I love the way you connected Math and Digital Writing. Blogging is a very good way to encourage critical thinking-just doing a blog myself required some real work on my part. I believe students are comfortable being digital creators and would be enthused to be able to use it in the classroom. Again, I am not in K12, but I think if we can find common ground to encourage learning, especially Math, can be a game changer for students.
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