Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education · Volume 1
Andreas Eckert, Andreas Ebbelind
Linnaeus University
⬇ Download PDFThis study investigates how language expressing uncertainty can support learning in probability. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics, we analysed classroom discourse during a five-lesson sequence with sixth-grade students. Video transcripts were coded for modality to examine how teachers and students articulated certainty and conjecture. Early lessons featured low modality linked to personal beliefs, while later lessons connected modal expressions to data-based reasoning. Teacher strategies shifting from mirroring to challenging and grounding statements in evidence proved crucial in fostering probabilistic thinking. Findings underscore the role of language as a resource for teaching probability and call for further research on linguistic approaches to statistical uncertainty.
Language repertoiresuncertaintymodalityprobability