Creating Accessible Opportunities for ELs in Math

Language is deeply involved in learning mathematics as students both communicate and think about their mathematical ideas. For all students—and English learners in particular—access means finding effective, authentic ways to make language clear and thinking visible so they can reason more, speak more, and write more in mathematics.

Watch Mark Driscoll, Johannah Nikula, and Jill Neumayer DePiper, the authors of Mathematical Thinking and Communication, talk about both the challenges and opportunities involved in creating access to learning math for English learners, including:

• Creating situations where English learners can engage fully in the math classroom
• Finding varying strategies that remove hurdles for English learners
• Overcoming spoken and unspoken assumptions about the role of language in math

Interested in learning more about strategies that support English learners in math? Stay tuned to the Heinemann blog for more from Mark, Johannah, and Jill over the next few weeks. You can also click here for a preview of their book.

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Mark Driscoll, Johannah Nikula, and Jill Neumayer DePiper work in the Learning and Teaching Division at Education Development Center (EDC) in Massachusetts, a non-profit organization that designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. They have decades of experience creating and studying professional development resources and training for mathematics teachers, with a particular focus on strategies to support the academic success of English learners.