Editing Math: Writing as a Guide to Better Mathematics Learning

I was talking to a colleague who teaches writing about the placement test, wondering if the test they happen to use gives them results that seem valid for getting students in to the best course. As we were talking, I wondered … could we learn from the writing placement tests and writing courses about how to help our students?

The writing placement test we were talking about is one of the very common instruments used to place students at community colleges. The test contains a series of writing samples (one at a time); students need to identify sentences with errors, and then also answer a question or two about the writing. When I asked my colleague about how well this worked, he said that it primarily just tested editing skills as opposed to writing skills.

Would math learning be improved if we held ‘editing’ in higher esteem? Would students become more able to think in mathematical terms if they routinely examined their mathematical writing? Should our math placement tests involve the process of students editing mathematical work to identify either strategic or tactical errors?

Like many of us, I routinely tell my students to check their work for errors. Competing with this ‘proofreading’ direction is the type of ‘check’ suggested in most textbooks (put it back in). The concept of editing applies to mathematical work, which we practice when we develop handouts and other materials for our students.

In developmental mathematics, a portion of our population are not yet ‘college level’ in their writing; students are challenged to write clear sentences and paragraphs … and challenged to write clear mathematical steps and solutions. Writing is the most direct measure of the knowledge held by the student, which is a tool for the student to look for gaps and confusions. Perhaps editing this work is a step along the path towards more developed metacognitive skills.

I would like to try this concept in my classes: Editing mathematics as a learning tool.

Separate from the classroom use, I wonder — should math placement tests involve different processes other than “get the answer”? Would we get better measures of readiness if students needed to examine a few steps of mathematical work to identify errors?

Developmental Mathematics Revival!

Bringing a new vitality to college mathematics 2011 to 2019