Science and Mathematics Education | Open Access Articles

Finding Your Mathematical Roots: Inclusion And Identity Development In Mathematics, Linda Mcguire Jan 2024

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 …

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Developing Stem Interest And Genre Knowledge Through Science Fiction Prototyping, Justin Nicholes Mar 2019

Developing Stem Interest And Genre Knowledge Through Science Fiction Prototyping, Justin Nicholes

The STEAM Journal

Upward Bound Math and Science, a federally funded initiative, aims to persuade U.S. high schoolers to become college STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors. The program attempts this persuasion by developing students’ content and procedural knowledge so that students may succeed in high school and college STEM courses. Primary focus on knowledge acquisition, however, may cause missed opportunities to engage the imaginative dimensions of students’ science identities and students’ senses of wonder for science. In this reflective essay, I describe a science fiction prototyping assignment that meets the knowledge-based objectives of the Writing Skills course in a five-week Upward Bound …

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16, Dan Mcquillan Feb 2017

16, Dan Mcquillan

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This 15 word poem suggests that the reader count the words of the poem. Since every line has half as many words as the previous line, and since the poem urges the reader to keep counting forever, one imagines a total of 16 words.

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What If?: Mathematics, Creative Writing, And Play, Emily Clader Jan 2016

What If?: Mathematics, Creative Writing, And Play, Emily Clader

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics can inform creative writing by suggesting structures for it to follow, as well as by providing the imaginative impetus for common rules to be broken. In a workshop co-taught by the author, a class of sixth-grade students explored this interplay as they produced fractal-inspired poetry and geometry-inspired fiction. This article describes the form and results of the workshop in the context of a broader discussion of the influence of mathematics upon literature.

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Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations And Study Of The Cicada, Janet E. Barber, Asamoah Nkwanta Jan 2014

Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations And Study Of The Cicada, Janet E. Barber, Asamoah Nkwanta

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Benjamin Banneker, farmer, mathematician, astronomer, and scientist, is known for his mathematical puzzles, ephemeris calculations, almanacs, his wooden clock, land surveying work, and famous letter on human rights. However, as a naturalist, his scientific and systematic observations of the cicadas are less known. In this paper we publicize Banneker’s naturalistic study of the seventeen-year periodic cycle of the cicada and make available the original handwritten document of his observations. We also introduce the audience of this journal to an intriguing natural problem involving prime numbers.

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My Mathematics, Karen Morgan Ivy Jul 2013

My Mathematics, Karen Morgan Ivy

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poem reflects a personal kaleidoscopic perspective into a world of actively engaging others in teaching and learning mathematics.

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Math Stories: Learning And Doing Mathematics Through Fiction Writing, Frederick Chen, Janna Raley Jul 2013

Math Stories: Learning And Doing Mathematics Through Fiction Writing, Frederick Chen, Janna Raley

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, we advocate the writing of mathematical fiction (i) as an aid for students in learning mathematics, and (ii) to engage students in doing mathematics.

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Joanne Growney's Poetry-With-Mathematics Blog -- An Appreciation, Gregory E. Coxson Jul 2012

Joanne Growney's Poetry-With-Mathematics Blog -- An Appreciation, Gregory E. Coxson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Now is a good time to work on the boundaries of practice and theory, of art and science. We are seeing a rising tide of interest in these boundaries. Witness the growing Bridges movement, which has been exploring the connections between mathematics and the arts. Similarly, JoAnne Growney's blog, Intersections -- Poetry with Mathematics, explores the connections between mathematics and poetry. Through this review, I aim to give readers a taste of what can be found in Intersections as a way of encouraging others, be they mathematicians, poets, or neither, to visit the blog.

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Mathematical Fiction, Pat Mower Mar 1999