Measuring mathematical language: Lessons from elementary classrooms

By Cynthia Lake, Johns Hopkins University

Mathematical language plays an important role in helping students understand math concepts, as it serves as both a communication tool and a foundation for problem-solving skills. In a working paper released by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, researchers provided the first large-scale quantitative analysis of mathematical language use in upper elementary classrooms. Conducted across 1,657 math lessons in 317 classrooms over three years, the research employed natural language processing (NLP) to examine how frequently teachers and students used mathematical vocabulary during lessons.

The study found wide differences in the use of mathematical language among teachers. Some teachers used mathematical terms much more frequently than others, modeling mathematical language 127 times per lesson on average. However, the study suggests that merely exposing students to mathematical vocabulary does not significantly lead to greater student usage of those terms. Teachers in the 75th percentile used 28 more mathematical terms per lesson than those in the 25th percentile, which amounts to approximately 4,480 additional exposures to mathematical terms over the course of a school year. This higher use of mathematical language was associated with improved student test scores, particularly when teachers employed additional strategies to engage students with these terms.

The study's findings suggest that encouraging student use of mathematical language requires more than just teacher modeling. Instead, effective math instruction stems from a broader set of practices that go beyond vocabulary use. While the study points to a correlation between teacher use of mathematical vocabulary and student achievement, it emphasizes that future research should explore the quality of vocabulary use and its impact on long-term learning outcomes.