Exploring language provides us with one approach to better understanding the practices and beliefs of a community. With advances in technology—specifically, computational text processing and machine learning tools—we can now examine written language on a large scale. In this study, we investigate the language of mathematics teaching and learning in the USA over a decade (2009–2018) by analyzing text from articles published in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Our analyses explore the terminology used by middle school teachers and teacher educators to discuss their practice, revealing terms that are used widely, terms that have largely been absent from such writing, and terms that have shifted in usage over the past decade. This research provides insight into the zeitgeist of mathematics teaching and learning during a particular period of time, while also suggesting a fruitful approach to examining language as a means of uncovering the beliefs and practices of a community.

探索语言为我们提供了一种更好地理解社区实践和信念的方法。随着技术的进步，特别是计算文本处理和机器学习工具的发展，我们现在可以大规模检查书面语言。在这项研究中，我们通过分析中学数学教学中发表的文章中的文字，调查了美国十年（2009-2018年）的数学教学语言。我们的分析探索了中学教师和教师教育者用来讨论其实践的术语，揭示了被广泛使用的术语，此类写作中基本上不存在的术语以及在过去十年中用法发生变化的术语。这项研究提供了在特定时期内数学教学的时代精神的洞察力，同时还提出了一种检查语言的富有成果的方法，以此来揭示社区的信仰和实践。