The manner in which children express themselves in writing is very important to a teacher's understanding of how they communicate ideas, especially mathematical ideas. Keeping a journal in mathematics is one way that children can express and document their mathematical thoughts. In addition, a journal gives a child an opportunity to explore his or her understanding of a mathematical concept and to communicate that understanding using writing tools and symbols best understood by the child. A teacher who understands the constructivist principle that "all knowledge is constructed by the learner and therefore, learning is an intensely personal affair" (Post 1992, 17) will easily adapt to the use of mathematics journals (Kamii 1985, 1989).
Journal keeping in mathematics is a relativeley new practice in classrooms, but getting started is easy.
Getting Started
Teachers need to understand the different approaches to journals that can be used in the classroom. Teachers can have students use their journal entries to:
References