TI-AIE: Cooperative learning and mathematical talk: triangles

What this unit is about

Triangles are often thought of as the basic shape in geometry, because all other polygons can be divided into triangles. Therefore, getting your students to recognise, use and communicate with one another about triangles and their properties, using conventional terminology, is an important step in learning to ‘speak like a mathematician’ and understand mathematics rather than just remembering the subject.

This unit will focus on how to help your students to use talk for learning mathematics. It will also discuss and offer ideas about how students can support each other in their learning and give each other effective feedback. Such cooperative learning helps students to feel more motivated. It is also especially useful when working in large classes.

Figure 1 A group of students working with triangles.

What you can learn in this unit