Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class
This paper investigates storylines from newcomers’ perspectives on their experiences of learning mathematics in an introductory mathematics classroom setting in Norway. We engaged in participatory research at a school over time. The data in this article come from observations and conversational inte...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/1/96 |
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| author | Shanthi Gretta Pasanha Annica Andersson Beth Herbel-Eisenmann Anita Movik Simensen |
| author_facet | Shanthi Gretta Pasanha Annica Andersson Beth Herbel-Eisenmann Anita Movik Simensen |
| author_sort | Shanthi Gretta Pasanha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper investigates storylines from newcomers’ perspectives on their experiences of learning mathematics in an introductory mathematics classroom setting in Norway. We engaged in participatory research at a school over time. The data in this article come from observations and conversational interviews. Positioning theory guided our analysis in identifying storylines and related positionings. Our analysis provided us with the following four storylines: (1) newcomers find mathematics easy because they are also learning a new language; (2) newcomers experience tensions when learning mathematics in a new language; (3) newcomers find math teachers extra kind and find that they extend their help to them more than usual; (4) newcomers seek alternative resources for learning advanced mathematics. The identified storylines serve as a valuable resource to understand the newcomers’ wishes and desires for their mathematics education in a context of not yet knowing the language of instruction and educational culture. We recommend listening to newcomers’ perspectives of their experiences and recognizing the strengths they bring to the classroom to understand how they navigate their situation while learning mathematics in multilingual mathematics learning settings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-008913f53c7a4629b8de5b74b6361abd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-008913f53c7a4629b8de5b74b6361abd2025-01-24T13:30:35ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-01-011519610.3390/educsci15010096Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory ClassShanthi Gretta Pasanha0Annica Andersson1Beth Herbel-Eisenmann2Anita Movik Simensen3Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, Campus Vestfold, University of South-Eastern Norway-USN, 3184 Borre, NorwayDepartment of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, University of South-Eastern Norway-USN, 3679 Notodden, NorwayCollege of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USADepartment of Education, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, 9510 Alta, NorwayThis paper investigates storylines from newcomers’ perspectives on their experiences of learning mathematics in an introductory mathematics classroom setting in Norway. We engaged in participatory research at a school over time. The data in this article come from observations and conversational interviews. Positioning theory guided our analysis in identifying storylines and related positionings. Our analysis provided us with the following four storylines: (1) newcomers find mathematics easy because they are also learning a new language; (2) newcomers experience tensions when learning mathematics in a new language; (3) newcomers find math teachers extra kind and find that they extend their help to them more than usual; (4) newcomers seek alternative resources for learning advanced mathematics. The identified storylines serve as a valuable resource to understand the newcomers’ wishes and desires for their mathematics education in a context of not yet knowing the language of instruction and educational culture. We recommend listening to newcomers’ perspectives of their experiences and recognizing the strengths they bring to the classroom to understand how they navigate their situation while learning mathematics in multilingual mathematics learning settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/1/96newcomersmathematics learning experiencespositioningsstorylinesintroductory classlanguage learning |
| spellingShingle | Shanthi Gretta Pasanha Annica Andersson Beth Herbel-Eisenmann Anita Movik Simensen Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class Education Sciences newcomers mathematics learning experiences positionings storylines introductory class language learning |
| title | Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class |
| title_full | Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class |
| title_fullStr | Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class |
| title_full_unstemmed | Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class |
| title_short | Storylines from Newcomers’ Perspectives: The Complexities of Learning Mathematics in a Norwegian Introductory Class |
| title_sort | storylines from newcomers perspectives the complexities of learning mathematics in a norwegian introductory class |
| topic | newcomers mathematics learning experiences positionings storylines introductory class language learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/1/96 |
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