The Influence Of Mathematics Communication On Enriching Function Concept Map Of Nomal School Students

In 'Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics' made by NCTM in 1989, mathematics communication is listed as one of the curriculum objectives, besides, achieving mathematics communication is a symbol of possessing mathematical quality. The National Mathematics Curriculum Standards for Senior Middle Schools (trial) in China, 2003 advocates the development of mathematics communicative competence. Mathematics communication is receiving more and more attention in countries throughout the world.Mathematics communication is an effective way of enriching and perfecting mathematics cognition. Concept map is a visible tool that can well present students' cognitive structure. When used continuously, concept map can even demonstrate a series of students' cognitive process. This thesis is about the experiment that the researcher has done in a Wuxi normal school, during which mathematics communication and the making of concept map are combined and have been introduced into the mathematics classes. The experiment, mainly based on function revision, aims at finding out the influence of mathematics communication on enriching normal school students' function concept map. The researcher attaches importance to the following five aspects:1. The degree of normal school students' acknowledgement on the promotion of making function concept map on the learning of function.2. The main difficulties that the normal school students of different levels have when making function concept map.3. The influence of reading textbooks, the communication between students and teachers and that among students on enriching normal school students' function concept map.4. The comparison of influences of mathematics communication on the making of concept map among students of different levels.5. The influence of the 'thick to thin' training of making concept map on students' 'thin to thick' expression.Major findings of this research are presented as follows:Most of the normal school students involved in this research acknowledge that making concept map can enhance their mathematics learning. There are differences among students of different levels when making function concept map: Top students feel it difficult to build lateral communications between concept branches; intermediate students find it hard to decide the arrangement of top-level concepts; poor students think it most difficult to pick out critical concepts and to make clear the concept of function. Textbooks and teaching references have a minor influence on enriching students' function concept map, while communications between students and teachers and those among students achieve greatly. Students at an intermediate level are influenced most greatly by mathematics communication on enriching their function concept map. Through making concept map, students can construct their knowledge, command the inner logic and thus systematize the knowledge.At the final part, based on the findings of this research, the researcher puts forward some proposals about the methods of applying mathematics communication and concept map to mathematics instruction in normal schools, and raises some suggestions for further research as well.