ABSTRACT
I began the previous chapter by making the point that pupils write all the time in science lessons. Mathematics lessons are no different, although there are clearly differences in the kinds of writing that are expected of pupils. Of course, the principal purpose of writing in mathematics will usually be to record the working out of mathematical problems and will probably feature the writing of numbers rather than text. There are other purposes for writing, however, and perhaps there needs to be an enhanced role for writing within the teaching and learning of mathematics. Some of these purposes might be:
to plan and record mathematical investigations;
to predict mathematical outcomes;
to recount mathematical work of various kinds, including calculations;
to give instructions for carrying out mathematical procedures; and
to offer a detailed proof of a mathematical phenomenon.
