This article aims to share five practical approaches for how teachers can identify, adapt, and create their own writing prompts they assign to students: (1) Promote Students' Solution Paths; (2) Go beyond Asking Students to Simply "Explain"; (3) Prompt Students to Share Their Reasoning; (4) Have Students Consider the Validity of a Given…

The body of literature on a Writing-to-Learn (WTL) approach in math courses offers up a variety of assignment types from which to choose. However, few of these articles provide empirical evidence on the ways these writing assignments contribute to students' learning. This mixed-methods study, conducted at the University of New Mexico, a…

Describes the process and outcome of including in assignments and examinations some questions requiring written answers along with traditional questions requiring only numerical calculations. Lists questions used in a chemical engineering course on separation processes along with sample responses from students. Student feedback indicates a…

Discusses the importance of writing in mathematics classrooms and offers an alternative to journal writing. Presents "Chris and Pat Writing Activities" designed to help students better understand concepts by making decisions about who has used correct skills to solve a mathematical problem. (ASK)

States that writing has become a major component of mathematics as a teaching, learning, and assessing mechanism of mathematical understanding. Presents some writing activities for mathematics classes and their advantages. (ASK)

Presents a project in which grade 1 children use diary writing as a link between home and school. Describes how they used problem solving and problem posing as part of normal classroom and home activities. (ASK)

Describes the problem-solving approach implemented in the University of Manitoba's first-year technical communication course. Considers technical writing as a process which can be broken down into steps: classify, analyze, test, and solve. Explains that this process offers students the methodology and flexibility they need to solve either…

Shares observations made by a third-grade teacher who experimented with a variety of strategies to improve her students' abilities to write about mathematics. Notes that this gave the teacher a greater understanding of how students approached solving math problems and helped students practice writing in a meaningful way. (SR)

This book is designed to provide teachers with numerous ideas about how to infuse mathematics and writing into their classroom in creative and challenging ways and to encourage students to visualize, speak, and write about math. The activities described here can help students communicate mathematically and realize that there is more to math than…

Designed for community college social science instructors, this compilation of materials provides an overview of the literature on critical thinking. Following introductory comments, ideas are presented concerning the importance of teaching critical thinking, the conflicting opinions about the essence of critical thinking, the pros and cons of…

The writing done in a biology class has a great deal in common with the writing done in the humanities and the social sciences. Because the scientific method of investigation requires the student to examine and understand the physical world by asking questions and then answering them through empirical investigation, clear and concise writing is…

Describes a class activity using graph theory in the form of finding the least number of firehouses needed to serve a town as mapped by a series of points and lines connecting the points. Notes that the third graders eagerly attacked the problem, and themselves suggested that the problem could be used in grades 2-8. (RS)

Designed to help teachers find an effective approach in teaching expository writing, this guide divides expository writing into five main types: definition/classification, comparison/contrast, thesis/proof, problem/solution, and inference (drawing conclusions). Five different starter techniques are presented with each of the five main types of…

Describes an action research project using Language for Understanding across the Curriculum to help year-seven students in a mathematics problem-solving unit. Strategies included unpacking the question, modeling the writing process, learning journals, glossaries, classroom charts, and the Newman Questioning Technique. Ability to explain…

Short essay questions are introduced into the calculus course as a technique to involve students with their own learning. Provides (1) instructions to the student for writing the report; (2) results of using the technique; and (3) reasons for using writing in mathematics classes. (MDH)