Teaching mathematics with children’s literature in Finland

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Oct 31, 2016
Versions:
2016-10-31 (1)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18844/ijlt.v8i4.1187

Main Article Content

Abstract

The Finnish school system will transfer to the new Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014 in 2016. The new curriculum emphasizes integration of subjects. In Finland, mathematics and the mother tongue are the two subjects which are taught the most and therefore play a significant role in every primary teacher’s weekly routine. Unlike English-speaking countries, Finland lacks children’s literature aimed towards use in mathematics teaching. This study aimed to understand teachers’ and teacher-trainees’ points of view on the extent to which they use children’s literature in teaching mathematics in primary school and how to efficiently use children’s literature in teaching mathematics in primary school. This study was a part of an international study entitled ‘Teachers’ beliefs on the integration of children’s literature in primary mathematics learning and teaching: A comparative study’, including universities from England, Hong Kong, Australia, and Finland. The aim was to determine teachers’ beliefs concerning integration of children’s literature into mathematics teaching and to the extent to which this benefits learning. Data collection was conducted via web-based questionnaires translated into Finnish from spring to autumn 2015. Mixed methods data analysis showed that teachers/teacher-trainees do not use children’s literature in mathematics teaching, but they still recognize various ways to implement it into their teaching. Previous studies on the use of literature in mathematics teaching show that children’s literature may provide a meaningful context to develop mathematical skills and foster children’s positive attitudes towards mathematics, as the stories in the literature are presented in an engaging and approachable manner.

Keywords: mathematics, children’s literature, teaching

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Teaching mathematics with children’s literature in Finland. (2016). International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 8(4), 253–261. https://doi.org/10.18844/ijlt.v8i4.1187
Issue
Vol. 8 No. 4 (2016): October
Section
Articles

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (SeeThe Effect of Open Access).

References

Anderson, A., Anderson, J. & Shapiro, J. (2004). Mathematical discourse in shared storybook reading. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 35(1), 5–33.
Billings, E. M. H. & Beckmann, C. E. (2005). Children's Literature: A Motivating Context to Explore Functions. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 10(9), 470–478.
Capraro, R. M. & Capraro, M. M. (2006). Are you really going to read us a story? Learning geometry through children’s mathematics literature. Reading Psychology, 27, 21–36.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007) Research methods in education. Routledge: Falmer.
Courtade, R. C., Lingo, A., S., Karp, K.S. & Whithey, T. (2013). Shared story reading teaching mathematics to students with moderate and severe disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 45(3), 34–44.
Cresswell, J. W. (2011). Controversies in mixed methods research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research 4th edition (pp. 269–283). United States of America: Sage Publications, Inc.
Edelman, J. (2012). The emperor’s new clothes: Is there empirical support for the use of children’s literature in mathematics? The 62nd Annual Conference of the Literacy Research Association. San Diego, CA.
English, L. D. (2010). Young children’s early modelling with data. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 22(2), 24–47.
FNBE (2014) Perusopetuksen perusteluonnokset (2016). [The sketch of the national core curriculum for basic education.] Retrieved (10.8.2014) from http://www.oph.fi/ops2016/perusteluonnokset/perusopetus
Flevares, L. M. & Schiff, J. L. (2014). Learning mathematics in two dimensions: A review and look ahead at teaching and learning early childhood mathematics with children’s literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1–12.
Grossman, P. (2001). Research on the teaching of literature: Finding a place. In V. Richardson (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching. Washington D.C.: American Educational Research Association, 416–432.
Haapasalo, L. (2008). Pitääkö ymmärtää voidakseen tehdä vai pitääkö tehdä voidakseen ymmärtää? [Does one need to understand in order to do or does one need to do in order to understand.] In P. Räsänen, P. Kupari, T. Ahonen, & P. Malinen (Eds.) Matematiikka – Näkökulmia opettamiseen ja oppimiseen 2nd Edition, [Mathematics – Perspectives for teaching and learning] (pp. 50–83). Jyväskylä: Niilo Mäki Instituutti.
Hatano, G. & Inagaki, K. (1998). Two courses of expertise. In H. Stevenson, H. Azuma, & K. Hakuta (Eds.), Child development and education in Japan (pp. 262–272). New York: W. H. Freeman.
Heflin, B. R. & Barksdale-Ladd, M. A. (2001). African American children’s literature that helps students find themselves: Selection guidelines for grades K-3. Reading Teacher, 54(8), 810–819.
Hellwig, S. J., Monroe, E. E., & Jacobs, J. S. (2000). Making informed choices - Selecting children’s trade books for mathematics instruction. Teaching Children Mathematics 4 (November), 138–143.
Hong, H. (1996). Effects of mathematics learning through children’s literature on math achievement and dispositional outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 11, 477–494.
Hunsander, P. D. (2004). Mathematics trade books: Establishing their value and assessing their quality. The Reading Teacher, 57(7), 618–629.
Hynds, S. (1990). Reading as social event: Comprehension and response in the text, classroom and world. In D. Bogdan & S. Shaw (Eds.) Beyond communication. Reading comprehension and criticism (pp. 170–210). Portsmouth: Heineman.
Imbens, G. W. & Rubin, D. B. (2015). Causal Inference for Statistics, Social, and Biomedical Sciences: An Introduction. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kontu, A. & Sointu, M. (2010). Tehtävä maassa. [The mission in Earth]. Helsinki: Gummerus.
Leino, J. (2008). Konstruktivismi opetuksessa. [Constructivism in teaching] In P. Räsänen, P. Kupari, T. Ahonen, & P. Malinen (Eds.) Matematiikka – Näkökulmia opettamiseen ja oppimiseen 2nd Edition [Mathematics – Perspectives for teaching and learning.] (pp. 20–31). Jyväskylä: Niilo Mäki Instituutti.
Marston, J. (2010). Developing a framework for the selection of picture books to promote early mathematical development. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 383 - 390.
Nesmith, S. & Cooper, S. (2010). Trade books in the mathematics classroom: The impact of many, varied perspectives on determinations of quality. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 24(4), 279–297.
Nikolajeva, M. (2013). Picturebooks and emotional literacy. The Reading Teacher, 67 (4), 249–254.
Nussbaum, M. C. (1995). Poetic justice. The literary imagination and public life. Boston: Beacon Press.
Piazzoli, E. & Kennedy, C. (2014). Drama: Threat or opportunity? Managing the ‘dual affect’ in process drama. Scenario (1).
Schatzer, J. (2008). Picture book power: Connecting children’s literature and mathematics. The Reading Teacher, 61(8), 649–653.
Teddlie, C. & Tashakkori, A. (2011). Mixed methods research: Contemporary issues in an emerging field. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.) The SAGE handbook of qualitative research 4th edition (pp. 285–299). United States of America: Sage Publications, Inc.
Toivonen, P.-M. (1998). Uusien maailmojen viestit: Kirjallisuuden lukemisen semioottis-psykolingvistinen teoria ja käytäntö¨. [Message of new worlds: Semiotic-psycholinguistic theory and practice of literacy reading.] Doctoral Thesis.Department of teacher education in Rauma. University of Turku.
Wiburne, J., M. & Napoli, J. (2008). Connecting mathematics and literature: An analysis of pre-service elementary school teachers’ changing beliefs and knowledge. IUMPST: The Journal, 2, 1–10.
Young-Loveridge, J. M. (2004). Effects on early numeracy of a program using number books and games. Early childhood research quarterly, 19, 82–98.