THE EFFECT OF PURPOSEFUL MATHEMATICS DISCOURSE IN THE CLASSROOM ON STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF PROBLEM SOLVING

This study examines how one secondary school teacher’s use of purposeful oral mathematics language impacted her students’ language use and overall communication in written solutions while working with word problems in a grade nine academic mathematics class. Mathematics is often described as a distinct language. As with all languages, students must develop a sense for oral language before developing social practices such as listening, respecting others ideas, and writing. Effective writing is often seen by students that have strong oral language skills. Classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and collected student work served as evidence to demonstrate the nature of both the teacher’s and the students’ use of oral mathematical language in the classroom, as well as the effect the discourse and language use had on students’ individual written solutions while working on word problems. Inductive coding for themes revealed that the teacher’s purposeful use of oral mathematical language had a positive impact on students’ written solutions. The teacher’s development of a mathematical discourse community created a space for the students to explore mathematical language and concepts that facilitated a deeper level of conceptual understanding of the learned material. The teacher’s oral language appeared to transfer into students written work albeit not with the same complexity of use of the teacher’s oral expression of the mathematical register. Students that learn mathematical language and concepts better appear to have a growth mindset, feel they have ownership over their learning, use reorganizational strategies, and help develop a discourse community.

The role of vitamin D signalling in the interaction between mesenchymal mammary tumour cells and macrophages

The transition of epithelial-like tumour cells to those exhibiting mesenchymal characteristics (Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition; EMT) is an integral process in breast cancer metastasis. EMT can be promoted by Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) which can be found at high levels in the tumour stroma. Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) can also induce EMT in breast cancer cells, which is one way that they promote breast cancer metastasis. Vitamin D signalling has been implicated in EMT suppression and plays a role in modulating macrophage differentiation and stimulating their anti-inflammatory functions. This project had two major aims. First, we aimed to create and verify a unique fluorescent reporter gene construct designed to evaluate the dynamics of EMT in real-time and at the single-cell level. While some components of this reporter system were successfully validated, work to complete the final reporter construct is ongoing. The second and main aspect of this project focused on exploring the ability of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3) to modulate the interaction between mesenchymal mammary tumour cells and TAMs. Unexpectedly, in short-term treatment (48 hours) studies of 4T1 murine mammary tumour cells, we observed that 1,25D3 and TGF-β signalling work together to increase expression of the mesenchymal markers, Snai1, Fn1, and Col1a1. 1,25D3 and TGF-β also synergistically activate transcription of the gene encoding the 1,25D3-catabolizing enzyme, Cyp24a1. The ability of 1,25D3 and TGF-β to enhance expression of these genes was diminished in a long-term treatment (14 days) of 4T1 cells, and this effect was accompanied by a decrease in cell proliferation. 1,25D3 may also cooperate with cytokines produced by normal macrophages and macrophages considered to be TAM-like. Conditioned media experiments revealed that in the presence of factors from normal macrophages, 1,25D3 enhanced expression of Fn1, and in the presence of factors from TAM-like macrophages, 1,25D3 enhanced expression of Fn1 and Cyp24a1. Rather than mitigating the interaction as hypothesized, 1,25D3 may exacerbate the tumour-promoting effects of the EMT-TAM relationship. Also, signalling pathways involved in the EMT-TAM relationship may synergize with 1,25D3 to upregulate Cyp24a1 expression. These findings are important for understanding the potential of vitamin D compounds to be used in the treatment of breast cancer.

From Content to Concept: Thinking Historically in the Elementary Classroom

In a little more than a century Canadian history and social studies education has faced a barrage of questions that has complicated its delivery in schools. Questions about the purpose of social studies, whose history should be taught and how it should be taught have clouded what the purpose of social studies and history education should be. The current project has employed historical thinking (specifically Seixas and Morton’s six historical thinking concepts) as a lens for teaching social studies and history. Students will engage in activity meant to develop habits of mind, namely understandings of historical perspective, historical significance, continuity and change, cause and consequence, use of primary sources and the ethical dimension of history. The goal is participation in a classroom inquiry, wherein students will collaboratively construct a timeline of Canadian history. Each entry will be determined as significant to Canadian narrative by students, and will be evaluated through one or several thinking concepts.