Pre-Reading Mathematics Empowers Students

In this action research study of my 8th grade mathematics classroom, I investigated the improvement of mathematical communication via assigning pre-reading material and requiring students to take notes prior to class discussions. I discovered that students became more active participants during classroom discussions and were able to produce work which illustrated their mathematical understanding. Teacher observations and improved quiz scores provide quantitative evidence, and student survey responses validate student communication. As a result of this research, I plan to assign pre-reading tasks and require students to take notes prior to class discussions with the goal to change classroom presentation from a teacher-centered approach to a student-led approach. Reading in Math 1 What exactly is the purpose of a mathematics textbook? Does it contain the questions for the assignment the teacher will expect done tomorrow? Could it be used to define mathematical vocabulary? Are there any examples listed that show the steps for solving the problems discussed in class today? Most mathematics teachers would answe