by Atle Christiansen
“It takes more than some additional language support to create a fully effective programme for multicultural students,” says Linda Opheim at the University of Agder (UiA).
Together with colleagues, she has researched a mathematics course for bilingual student teachers. Along the way, the researchers have adjusted the teaching in collaboration with the lecturer and the students.
Before the restructuring, 30 percent of the students failed the exam; after the restructuring, 4 percent failed.
“We can safely say that the course has been a success,” says Opheim.
The only one in the country
UiA is the only university in Norway that offers a dedicated teacher-education programme for bilingual teachers. The programme started in 2005. It leads to a three-year bachelor’s degree that qualifies graduates to teach as subject teachers.
The 30-credit mathematics course is part of the bachelor’s programme.
Opheim took over the teaching in 2022 and gradually realised that she needed to change the course.
“It became clear that we couldn’t structure the programme in the same way as for Norwegian students. Additional language support is only the first step towards better teaching and learning,” she says.
Needed in schools
The reason bilingual students need a tailored bachelor’s degree is twofold. Firstly, fewer and fewer people are choosing to study mathematics in order to become teachers. Secondly, there are far too few teachers with multicultural backgrounds teaching the subject in primary and lower secondary schools.
“We are a multicultural society, but this is not reflected in the number of maths teachers. We are now trying to do something about that. The goal was never to make the bilingual teachers more like the Norwegian ones, but rather to make use of the fact that their multilingualism is a resource,” says Opheim.
Seeing the students as a resource
Instead of focusing on what the multilingual students lacked, they wanted to use the experience the students already had. They aimed to show that the students are a resource in schools.
“We had to make changes that made it clear we view this group of students as important for schools,” says Opheim.
Among other things, the students received extra training in the roles of teacher and pupil in the Norwegian school system.
“Many come from countries with different teaching systems and curricula. We may view things differently, such as the relationship between student and teacher or the teacher and the overarching curriculum,” says Opheim.
She points to countries where respect for the teacher is so strong that students say they understand even when they do not.
“Another example is that it may be unfamiliar for these students that it is possible to teach in ways other than those suggested by the textbook. We teach them to plan lessons based on a curriculum in interaction with their own subject knowledge,” she adds.
Changed the course while researching
Instead of traditional research, the researchers used action research when studying the teaching. This is a method where the researcher changes practice along the way based on their findings.
“We analyse how the teaching works, plan changes, implement them, observe what happens, and adapt again. It is an ongoing process of analysis, reflection, and adjustment,” says Opheim.
The course is not simplified
She emphasises that adapting teaching is about providing different instruction so that various student groups have an equal opportunity to engage in meaningful learning.
“We have not created a simplified maths course for multilingual students, but adapted it to their needs,” says Opheim.
One course participant, Tariq (pseudonym), originally from the Middle East, summarises the course as follows:
“Helping students understand maths is not just about numbers. It’s about language. It’s about belonging with others. It’s about showing each student that their way of thinking matters.”
“Action research has taught us that it does not take a single brilliant revision to change a teaching programme. It requires ongoing work where we must be willing to listen, reflect, change, and adapt multiple times,” says Opheim.
References
Linda Opheim and Constantinos Xenofontos: Designing a Mathematics Teacher Education Course for Multicultural and Multilingual Pre-Service Teachers: Working Towards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Linda Opheim, Kristoffer Heggelund and Cornelia Brodahl: Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-efficacy as Future Mathematics Teachers in a Second Language Classroom