Education Commons^™

Finding Your Mathematical Roots: Inclusion And Identity Development In Mathematics, Linda Mcguire

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper details a semester-long course project that has been successfully adapted for use in mathematics courses ranging from introductory level, general-education classes to advanced courses in the mathematics major. Through creating aspirational mathematical family trees and writing mathematical autobiographies, this assignment is designed to help battle belonging uncertainty, to challenge students to self-situate in relation to the history of mathematical and scientific knowledge, and to make visible a student’s developing identity in mathematics and, more broadly, in STEM.

The construction and scaffolding of the project, assignments, examples of student work, foundational readings, assessment and outcomes, and adaptation strategies for …

Centering Equity In Stem Teaching: Stem Ideas That Change The World, Ileana Vasu

Feminist Pedagogy

No discussion on equity/inequity makes sense without bringing power into that discussion. As instructors we need to ask questions such as “who decides and controls what knowledge is”, “whose identities are empowered and whose are erased”, “who has access and opportunity and who doesn’t”. Traditional teaching in STEM, including mathematics, assumes knowledge is objective, transmittable, repeatable to everyone. When educators follow a traditional curriculum, just like their teachers before them, they do so thinking their methods ensure equality and objectivity. These practices not only deny the role that Western patriarchal cultures have played in creating these so-called equitable practices, but …

Catalyzing Change For Equitable Participation, Liza Bondurant, Seema Rivera

Journal of Practitioner Research

This manuscript discusses the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles designed to help math teacher-researchers (TRs) create more equitable discourse patterns in their classrooms. Before the first cycle, TRs were asked to complete gender and race implicit assessment tests (IATs). Then, TRs planned and recorded a video of themselves facilitating a math discussion. Next, math teacher educators (MTEs) used the Equity QUantified In Participation (EQUIP) classroom observation instrument to code and analyze the discussion. Subsequently, TRs had an opportunity to reflect on the EQUIP and IAT results and set goals for making their teaching practices more equitable. MTEs provided guidance …

Just Mathematics: Getting Started Teaching Postsecondary Math For Social Justice, Kenan A. Ince

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Following the summer 2020 civil rights movement and increasing attention to the intersections of mathematics with politics and power, many math educators have reported a desire to implement an antiracist pedagogy and to examine the intersections of their subject with issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Many resources exist for K-12 math educators interested in incorporating social justice into their curricula, but resources are comparatively scarce for college and university instructors (though this is changing quickly!). We discuss why one may want to teach mathematics for social justice, how to begin to implement issues of social justice into postsecondary …

Incorporating Social Justice And Equity As Themes In Math Circles Online, Matthew Jones, Sharon Lanaghan, Carolyn Yarnall

Journal of Math Circles

The CSUDH Math Teachers' Circle chose a focus on equity and social justice in 2020. The national focus on social justice caused us to reflect on what we can do to affect change regarding issues of equity and social justice in our society. In addition, the global pandemic caused us to shift our circle online, which presented both obstacles and opportunities. In this paper, we expand upon how we addressed various challenges faced in facilitating an online Math Teachers’ Circle, focusing on our experience facilitating sessions focused on equity and social justice and participants' reactions to this experience.

Teaching Preservice Teachers In The Time Of Covid: What’S Worth Keeping?, Kathy Liu Sun, Jennifer L. Ruef, Kathleen Jablon Stoehr, Madeline Ahearn

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

As we begin to transition from online instruction to in-person, we (four mathematics teacher educators) reflect on how COVID-19 impacted our instruction and address the question: what will we take back to in-person instruction? This article includes our individual reflections and an analytical synthesis of them. Findings reveal that there were unanticipated ways that human connection and consideration arose from teaching online, much of which we want to maintain in some form when returning to brick and mortar classrooms. We conclude by highlighting the value and importance of reflection for our own well-being.

The Ingenuity Of Everyday Practice: A Framework For Justice-Centered Identity Work In Engineering In The Middle Grades, Angela M. Calabrese Barton, Kathleen Schenkel, Edna Tan

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Inequities in opportunities to learn and become in engineering, especially for minoritized youth, are enduring and systemic. How students experience engineering education, through curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher/student interactions, all shape opportunities for identity development. In this paper we draw upon cultural studies and critical ethnography to explore how and why students engage in engineering for sustainable communities and its relationship to their identity work. We ground our work in a justice-centered asset-based stance that centers how people’s lived lives and community wisdom yield powerful forms of cultural knowledge/practice relevant to learning and engaging in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We …

Committing To Equity: Going Beyond Teaching Mathematics, Nora Ramirez

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

There are many actions that can impact the goal of achieving equity in—and access to—school mathematics. A few actions are presented, some not often addressed, because one might not think them directly related to the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Course Design And Academic Outcomes In Quantitative Literacy After Eliminating Required Remediation, Jennifer E. Clinkenbeard

Numeracy

In Fall 2018, remedial mathematics courses were eliminated from the 23-campus California State University system under Executive Order 1110. Incoming first-year students were placed into college credit-bearing mathematics courses with options for corequisite support. This study examines the academic outcomes for students at California State University Monterey Bay in a college credit level quantitative literacy (QL) mathematics course with optional corequisite support during the 2018-2019 academic year. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that required remediation is not necessary for success in college-level QL. The corequisite support model also has potential to support more equitable outcomes for all …

Equitable Mathematics Classroom Discourse, Liza Bondurant

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this article the author shares a self-study investigation into how the quality of talk and opportunities to participate are distributed across individual students based on race and gender in her college math class. Readers will learn how to conduct a similar investigation in their classroom. A discussion of ways to use the information gathered from equitable mathematics classroom discourse investigations will follow.

Book Review Of The Impact Of Identity In K-8 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices, Catherine Martin

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

Aguirre, Mayfield-Ingram, and Martin have written this book to engage teachers in conversations about and reflection on their own and their students' mathematical identities. While classroom examples focus on grades K-8, the book discusses teacher reflection and practice around issues of equity for grades K-12.

College Students’ Images Of Mathematicians And Mathematical Careers, Katrina Piatek-Jimenez, Miranda Nouhan, Michaela Williams

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper we report our findings of college students’ images of mathematicians and we reflect on different methodologies used to assess this information. The study reported in this paper was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, we asked 179 college students to “draw a mathematician” and also asked them to list five characteristics and five careers for a mathematician. In the second stage of the study, we conducted four focus group interviews with a total of twelve college students. During the focus group interviews, we showed the students 16 photos of real people and asked them to …

Science-Literacy Integration: Equity And Learning In First-Grade, Urban Instructional Contexts, Angela J. Stefanski, Nicole M. Martin, Melinda A. Zurcher

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Previous research demonstrates that integration of science and literacy instruction in primary grades has positive outcomes for students’ science and literacy development. However, variations in how science and literacy are enacted suggest integration may not be sufficient to meet the literacy and science needs of all students in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine two first-grade teachers’ science integration during literacy instruction in one high- and one low-income school context within one urban district. Analysis of field notes, transcripts of lessons, and interviews revealed that expectations to integrate science during time set aside for literacy …

On "Icky" Data, The Political Classroom, And Towards Equity And Social Justice In Mathematics Education: A Conversation With Tonya Bartell, Samuel L. Tunstall, Oyemolade Osibodu, Tonya Gau Bartell

Numeracy

Tonya G. Bartell, ed. 2018. Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education (Switzerland: Springer International Publishing) 341 pp. ISBN 978-3319929064.

This brief interview with Tonya Bartell introduces Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education to the Numeracy audience. The interviewers also discuss with Tonya connections between quantitative literacy and mathematics for social justice, particularly in the context of US K-12 schooling. Tonya shares her perspective on topics ranging from the placement of quantitative literacy in K-12 mathematics education and how one might get started in incorporating a social justice lens into their teaching to paradigms for research …

The Demands Of The Rights Of The Learner, Elham Kazemi

Democracy and Education

In this response to Kalenic-Craig’s (2017) article, “The Rights of the Learner: A Framework For Promoting Equity through Dynamic Formative Assessment,” I consider what implications the RotL framework has for the work that teachers and students must do in learning environments where these rights flourish. The RoTL emphasizes student sensemaking and communication in the classroom. Given the realities of classrooms as racialized, gendered, and classed spaces, this emphasis on communication demands critical consciousness for both teachers and students.

Volume 7, Issue 1, Catherine Scott

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field is greatly promoted as a career path for students in recent years, and the demand for individuals specializing in STEM disciplines is expected to rise. Often, when considering STEM, one thinks of careers related to medicine, laboratory settings, or the pure sciences. However, in examining only these aspects of STEM, we may errantly overlook the impacts that P-20 education may have in using STEM as a means for improving student lives. One unique aspect of STEM is its role in helping to improve our well being as individuals and society as a …

Every Student Can Be An Einstein: Addressing Math Anxiety In Today’S Classrooms, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

This article is geared toward mathematics educators in hopes that they can ultimately excite young people about mathematics, encourage students to be confident in their ability to solve problems, understand mathematical concepts, and see math as a human endeavor. The author believes that as students feel less anxious about and more confident in their abilities to do math that their performance will improve. As math test scores are often a concern for principals, teachers, and society at large, success and confidence with mathematics is critical in our high-tech globally competitive world. Math anxiety has become a growing concern in the …

A Framework For Problem-Based Learning: Teaching Mathematics With A Relational Problem-Based Pedagogy, Carmel Schettino

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

One recommendation for encouraging young women and other underrepresented students in their mathematical studies is to find instructional methods, such as problem-based learning (PBL), that allow them to feel included in the learning process. Using a more relationally centered pedagogy along with more inclusive instructional methods may be a way to foster an interest in studying mathematics in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, many mathematics teachers are at a loss in not only how to instruct with PBL methods but also how to create the environment that encourages optimal learning.

Mind The Gap: Student Researchers Use Secondary Data To Explore Disparities In Stem Education, Nathan Bean, Amanda Gnadt, Nicole Maupin, Sherry A. White, Lori Andersen

Prairie Journal of Educational Research

Large data sets offer opportunities for graduate students to become involved in meaningful research, but also comes with a unique set of challenges. This paper seeks to examine that relationship through utilizing the High School Longitudinal Study 2009 – representative of US ninth graders in 2009 (n = 21,444) – to examine a set of research questions about STEM interest and preparation amongst secondary students. Student researchers identified gaps in plans and outcomes with regards to race, gender, exceptionalities, and socioeconomic status. Findings indicated inequities that affect STEM outcomes. A significant interaction was found between students education expectations by gender …

Lift Every Voice And Sing. A Response To "Mathematics For What? High School Students Reflect On Mathematics As A Tool For Social Inquiry", Anita Bright

Democracy and Education

In this response, I applaud the work initiated in this research and underscore some of the key reasons I find it so valuable. Building from this, I also issue a call to the greater mathematics education community—particularly the large mathematics professional organizations—to consider the ways their organizations have conceptualized and framed equity work, and invite them to entertain the idea of remapping their visions in ways that are more forward thinking and less traditionally safe.

Moving Toward Equitable, Accessible, And Relevant Mathematics For All. A Book Review Of Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice By The Numbers, Lauren Provost

Democracy and Education

A book review of Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers, edited by Eric Gutstein and Bob Peterson.

Collaborative Partnerships To Achieve Equity, Jeremy Winters, Craig Rice, Cindy Cliche

NALS Journal

The collaborative partnership between most campus laboratory schools and their university or college department of education differs from campus to campus. The dual purpose of this partnership is to provide an education to school aged children as well as to provide college education majors an opportunity to observe and teach in a laboratory environment. The focus on inclusion and providing a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities is an additional benefit for all of the students. In order for the partnership to be most effective, conversations must occur between general and special education …