Teacher Practices and Hybrid Space in a fifth-grade Mathematics Classroom

Abstract

Providing students with a classroom environment that allows for meaningful learning experiences is important for students to develop deep and long lasting understanding about mathematics. This article adds to the literature on learning environments in mathematics by presenting a case study of one fifth-grade mathematics teacher and her classroom through the lens of a hybrid space. The framework developed in Barton and Tan’s (2009) work is applied to a mathematics classroom to investigate the use of funds of knowledge and Discourses. The researchers conclude that this teacher’s instructional practices allowed for the creation of a hybrid space in her classroom. Evidence from this case study found that two constructs were present in the classroom (a) family funds of knowledge and Discourse, and (b) peer funds of knowledge and Discourse. Results from this study could help teachers and researchers better understand how to create a meaningful learning environment for students in the context of a mathematics classroom.