1. Writing Across the Curriculum in Mathematics
Candy R. Mowen, MS Ed., MBA, CFD Faculty, General Education- Mathematics Department Course Lead MM255

2. Instructor: “I can barely get my students to show their work
Instructor: “I can barely get my students to show their work. How am I going to get them to write about what they’re doing?”
Student: “This isn’t English Comp, why do we have to write?”

3. Studies have shown that writing is valuable for the math classroom (Urquhart, 2009). For example, it seems that a student’s ability to explain concepts in writing is related to the ability to comprehend and apply them.
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4. Students have always written in math class – they have written the answers!
Image from Upsplash

5. Writing in Math: It’s More than Just Numbers These Days
Math with Pa & Ma Kettle
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6. Essential Questions
Why should I use writing in my math classroom? What types of writing can be used in math? How can I begin to incorporate writing into my math classroom?

7. Establish the purpose for writing in math class – Students need to hear why it’s important to make writing a part of their math assignments
Establish yourself (the teacher) as the audience – Let students know that you are the eager audience for their writing; that reading their writing helps you become a better teacher
Ask students to include details and to explain their thinking as thoroughly as possible – use words, numbers, and even pictures
Classroom Strategies

8. Classroom Strategies Continued:
Have students discuss their ideas before writing – talking is often easier than writing, allows students to gather their thoughts before putting them in writing.
Have students share their writing with their peers – enables students to hear other points of view.
Give individual assistance as needed – check that the student understands the assignment; ask the student to tell you their thinking; or refocus the assignment.
Use students’ writing in subsequent instruction – useful for extending lessons, shows students that you value their writing.
Classroom Strategies Continued:

9. Instructor Benefits of Writing in the Math Classroom
Information about students’ understanding is revealed in their writing which we may not have had access to before (Burns, 2004).
Students’ essays and assignments provide feedback and direction that provide instructors with useful information for thinking about changing, improving, and enhancing instruction choices.
You will know who is and isn’t learning the mathematics content in that unit.
Students’ writing is a vital tool to assess their learning, their essays/assignments provide a window into their understandings, their misconceptions, and their feelings about the content they’re learning (Burns, 2005).
Instructor Benefits of Writing in the Math Classroom

10. Student Benefits of Writing in the Math Classroom
Writing helps students think more deeply and clearly about mathematics.
Writing in math class supports learning because it requires students to organize, clarify, and reflect on their ideas.
“Writing helps students make sense of mathematics. Mathematics helps students make sense of the world” (Countryman, 2012).
Student Benefits of Writing in the Math Classroom

11. Journey of Discovery With Math & Writing
Writing in mathematics can help students strengthen their thinking.
Writing in math reveals student misconceptions. 
Writing, and communicating, about math is a skill used in everyday life. 

12. 5 Types of Math Writing Keeping Journals or Logs Solving Math Problems
A way for students to keep ongoing records about what they’re doing and learning in math class
Solving Math Problems
Convince the reader that their solutions are correct and also to reveal how they arrived at their solutions
Explaining Mathematical Concepts/Ideas
Students write what they know about a concept of idea
Creative Writing
Students write stories or poems related to what they’re studying
General Writing Assignments
Focus on how students feel about some aspect of their mathematics learning

13. Explaining Mathematical
Type of Writing Prompt
Type of Math Writing
Examples
Content Prompt
Deal with mathematical concepts and relationships
Creative Writing
- If I was one centimeter tall…
- Haiku Poems
- Write a letter to an absent classmate.
Explaining Mathematical
Concepts and Ideas
- Multiplication is ________.
- What I know about ______.
- What I learned about _______.
- The difference between _______ and _______ is _________.
Journals or Logs
- Write about what you did.
- Write about what you learned.
- Write about what you’re not sure about or wondering about.
- The easiest/hardest problem from the homework was ______.
Affective Prompt
Center on students’ attitudes and feelings
General Writing Assignment
- Math Autobiographies
- Math is important because…
- What makes a good math partner?
Process Prompt
Focus on algorithms and problem solving
Solving Math Problems
- My answer is _______. I figured it out by _______.
- I think the answer is _______ because ________.
- A written step by step process for solving a problem.
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14. Examples of Writing in the Math Classroom
Ask questions??? Explain your thinking!!! x = ? Two groups of four Boiler Makers is how many Boiler Makers???
Provide Concrete Experience

15. MM255 Business Mathematics and Statistical Measures– Discussion Board Essay
You, as a small business owner, are interested in buying a lot for $38,000.  You have a CD (certificate of deposit) worth $40,000 now, which earns 4% compounded annually and will mature in 3 years.  You are thinking about cashing in the CD to purchase the lot but cashing in the CD now means you will have to pay a withdrawal penalty of $500.  You project the value of the lot will be $45,000 in 3 years and you intend to use it for immediate equipment storage purposes for your business.
For your main post, you will write an essay discussing what you, as a business owner, decide to do buy or pass on purchasing the lot.  In your essay you should address the following: 
Calculate how much your CD will be worth upon maturity.
Explain the differences (pros and cons) between these two investment options.
Prioritize and select the best option for your business and explain why that option is preferable.
Discuss the potential impact this choice will have on the future of your business.
Include at least one APA formatted reference supporting your decision.

16. Student Essay
Miller Recycling is ready to begin the startup process.  It was only a year ago the idea was written down, the startup plan analyzed, and the goal seeming light years away.  To date, the business has accumulated all the necessary equipment needed at the recycling plant at minimal cost.  The current dilemma is the housing for said equipment.  With over $100,000 worth of machinery, Miller Recycling wants to ensure all property is secure in a large warehouse.  The attention to this matter is immediate.
One option for the equipment is to purchase a lot for $38,000.  The lot is close to the recycling plant so the location is optimum.  There is a place for storing the equipment already on property.  In order to keep the company from going into the red at the start, the owner is willing to cash in a CD worth $40,000. If not cashed, and held for 3 years until it matures, the CD will earn 4% compounded annually.  If the business decides to use this money for the purchase of the lot now, there will be a $500 fee for cashing in the CD early.  The fee is small in comparison to having the storage and peace of mind the lot gives to the company now.
A second option is to not cash in the CD and request a small business loan instead.  When evaluating methods of cost savings for the business, it is important to review the future value and/or loss.  Looking at the CD for $40,000, after taking the 3 years by the annual compounded percentage, the amount is ( x $40,000) $44,    The projected future value of the lot after 3 years is $45,000.  The loss of cashing in the CD early is $4,   When looking at a small business loan for a startup business, most banks will not give low interest rates unless the company has been established for a minimum of two years.  Per CreditKarma.com, On Deck was an option that would give a loan with annual interest of 9.99% for 24 months or longer on an amount larger than $40,000.  Upon reading the fine print at the bottom it is noted, “The weighted average rate for term loans is 25.3%...” (Business Loans, N. D).  In addition, there is a one-time origination fee on the first loan of % of the loan amount.  In this situation, the business will not agree to the term loan as the rate is unfixed and the amount cannot be determined.  Being unsure of how much the money will need to spend on the lot in the future due to unfixed rates is not a very wise option, but is available. 

17. Student Essay continued:
The final option is for Miller Recycling to seek the money from investors.   According to United States Business Administration, funding the business at the beginning is the most important decision business owners make (Beckman, J. S. 1995).  How to supply the business with the money can make or break it in the beginning.  Seeking out companies that would like to invest in the company and have similar beliefs.  This would mean Miller Recycling would have to share the control with others, but in the end, it would not have to worry about endless debt, it may be worth giving up a portion of the ownership.  This would take time and may be something to look into for the future, not for the current situation.
With every decision made in business, there is an upside and a downside.  Miller Recycling will use every resource necessary when making decisions for the company.  In this situation, the business will go with the first option and be cashing in the $38,000 CD.  After review of all possibilities, the choice is obvious.  This action will give the least damage and will give the company the immediate storage it needs for equipment.  Although the company will be losing the $4, in interest from not waiting for the CD to mature and the $ fee for cashing in the CD early, the savings is optimal compared to a bank loan for a new business.  The situation of the lot is perfect being close to the recycling plant.  The storage is available and ready for immediate occupancy.
References:
Beckman, J. S. (1995). Energizing Your Business. The Small Business Computer Guide, 1-5. doi: /b
Business Loans. (n.d.). Retrieved from

18. Image from Creative Commons

19. Summary
Studies have shown that writing is valuable for the math classroom. A student’s ability to explain concepts in writing is related to the ability to comprehend and apply them. Writing supports mathematical reasoning and problem solving and helps students adopt the characteristics of effective communication by helping strengthen their thinking while requiring them to reflect on their work and clarify their thoughts about the ideas. Writing in mathematics give the instructor a window into the students’ thoughts that are normally not apparent when they are just asked to compute problems. It shows barriers giving instructors ways to help them understand.

20. MM150: Survey of Mathematics
Q & A

21. References Countryman, J. (2012). Writing to Learn Mathematics:
Strategies That Work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Burns, M. (2005) Writing in Math Class. Math Solutions
Publications.
Burns, Marilyn. (2004). “Writing in Math.” Educational
Leadership, 62:30-33.
Urquhart, Vicki. (2009) “Using Writing in Mathematics to Deepen
Students Learning.” Denver: CO: McREL.

22. MM150: Survey of Mathematics
Contract Information
Candy R. Mowen, MS Ed., MBA, CFD
Faculty, General Education- Mathematics Department
Course Lead MM255
CTL Advisory Committee Member