Social justice mathematics pedagogies envision students "writing the world" with mathem... more Social justice mathematics pedagogies envision students "writing the world" with mathematics, in ways that often involve literal rather than metaphorical writing. However, neither the textual form nor the pedagogical processes of developing these persuasive mathematical compositions are envisioned clearly in current mathematics education research. In this poster, we present several samples of social justice mathematics writing responding to an idealized model of the COVID-19 epidemic. One was written by an undergraduate calculus student and others are "creative writing" by professors who are answering the classroom task as if they were students. Through this poster, we hope to create conversation about how students can demonstrate both mathematical knowledge and social awareness through a written text.
Teaching mathematics in real-word contexts is a strategy to make math relevant for undergraduate ... more Teaching mathematics in real-word contexts is a strategy to make math relevant for undergraduate students. However, very little research exists on students ’ methods of integrating contextual and mathematical knowledge through writing. This study uses an interdisciplinary writing assignment to investigate the relationship between students ’ written portrayal of context and mathematical argumentation. A qualitative analysis of 41 essays found that writing contextual details was associated with the use of multiple data sources and with the mathematical support of an argument. Writing about contextual details allows a student to create a sense of cohesion between mathematics and the thesis of the essay. The study suggests that pre-writing activities connecting context and mathematics may help students integrate interdisciplinary knowledge. Traditional algebraic word problems set mathematical tasks in a terse, minimalist real-world scenario. In contrast, some contemporary curricula embe...
On difficult subjects I have given several texts referring to the same word. (Malinowski, 1965/19... more On difficult subjects I have given several texts referring to the same word. (Malinowski, 1965/1935, p. 4) We are delighted to contribute a text about Mostert and Roberts’ text about isiXhosa means...
This article outlines a “socially contextualized” approach for integrating ethnomathematics into ... more This article outlines a “socially contextualized” approach for integrating ethnomathematics into undergraduate classes. In this approach, students engage issues associated with an application or case study, that are significant socially and anthropologically in tandem with the mathematics lesson. The ethnographic backgrounds of well-known ethnomathematics case studies, Tschokwe lusona and Vanuatuan nitu sand drawings, are used to develop examples of these anthropologically significant issues; a case study on the mathematics of theories of race is outlined as well. By engaging social issues associated with ethnomathematics case studies, students can develop subjective, values-based motivation to study mathematics. The Case for Rich Contexts in Ethnomathematics Lessons The potential of ethnomathematics to transform the self-concept and level of achievement of children in mathematics is increasingly recognized and well-documented. The Yup’ik project for Alaskan elementary students prov...
In this article, I report on a teaching experiment in which undergraduate algebra students studie... more In this article, I report on a teaching experiment in which undergraduate algebra students studied exponential growth as a means of understanding the effects of infectious diseases on personal income internationally The social science context of economic epidemiology in this application differed from many tr·eatments of context in mathematics because the context was dynamic it was a site of active learning in which students encountered social science learning goals alongside mathematical tasks I outline the teaching opportmtities and dilemmas posed by a strongly interdisciplinary approach to context, one in which the issues and fOrms of analysis of each discipline, in this case mathematics and social science, are treated equally This discussion is intended to help frarue research questions on mathematics applications presented tlnuugh significant non-mathematical contexts
Adopting inquiry-based science and mathematics pedagogies changes traditional classroom communica... more Adopting inquiry-based science and mathematics pedagogies changes traditional classroom communication patterns. Linguistic research in science and mathematics classrooms has identified communication techniques that help teachers manage classroom discussions to increase student interaction and a sense of student responsibility for learning. These communicative techniques strengthen access for underrepresented populations in science and mathematics while enhancing learning for majority population students.
... Through the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics, a group of scholars built upon the... more ... Through the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics, a group of scholars built upon the theoretical work ... Ubiratan D'Ambrosio (Powell & Frankenstein, 1997c), this group of scholars hasexplored theoretical frameworks for teaching and learning as a dynamic ...
This project presentation reports on a conversation amongst in-service secondary mathematics teac... more This project presentation reports on a conversation amongst in-service secondary mathematics teachers who had just participated in a social justice mathematics professional development session. As they discussed how they might incorporate the social justice activity into their classes, their conversation invoked a wide range of timescales. Timescales, as presented by Lemke, are categories of actions that are somewhat predictable, periodic and that either constrain or enact agency. Collectively, the teachers mentioned 20 timescales that imagine forms of agency that unfold over a range of time frames, from a moment to nearly a century. Timescale analysis of this conversation reveals the intensively hegemonic conditions which teachers must consider when preparing to teach transgressively.
Social justice mathematics pedagogies envision students "writing the world" with mathem... more Social justice mathematics pedagogies envision students "writing the world" with mathematics, in ways that often involve literal rather than metaphorical writing. However, neither the textual form nor the pedagogical processes of developing these persuasive mathematical compositions are envisioned clearly in current mathematics education research. In this poster, we present several samples of social justice mathematics writing responding to an idealized model of the COVID-19 epidemic. One was written by an undergraduate calculus student and others are "creative writing" by professors who are answering the classroom task as if they were students. Through this poster, we hope to create conversation about how students can demonstrate both mathematical knowledge and social awareness through a written text.
Teaching mathematics in real-word contexts is a strategy to make math relevant for undergraduate ... more Teaching mathematics in real-word contexts is a strategy to make math relevant for undergraduate students. However, very little research exists on students ’ methods of integrating contextual and mathematical knowledge through writing. This study uses an interdisciplinary writing assignment to investigate the relationship between students ’ written portrayal of context and mathematical argumentation. A qualitative analysis of 41 essays found that writing contextual details was associated with the use of multiple data sources and with the mathematical support of an argument. Writing about contextual details allows a student to create a sense of cohesion between mathematics and the thesis of the essay. The study suggests that pre-writing activities connecting context and mathematics may help students integrate interdisciplinary knowledge. Traditional algebraic word problems set mathematical tasks in a terse, minimalist real-world scenario. In contrast, some contemporary curricula embe...
On difficult subjects I have given several texts referring to the same word. (Malinowski, 1965/19... more On difficult subjects I have given several texts referring to the same word. (Malinowski, 1965/1935, p. 4) We are delighted to contribute a text about Mostert and Roberts’ text about isiXhosa means...
This article outlines a “socially contextualized” approach for integrating ethnomathematics into ... more This article outlines a “socially contextualized” approach for integrating ethnomathematics into undergraduate classes. In this approach, students engage issues associated with an application or case study, that are significant socially and anthropologically in tandem with the mathematics lesson. The ethnographic backgrounds of well-known ethnomathematics case studies, Tschokwe lusona and Vanuatuan nitu sand drawings, are used to develop examples of these anthropologically significant issues; a case study on the mathematics of theories of race is outlined as well. By engaging social issues associated with ethnomathematics case studies, students can develop subjective, values-based motivation to study mathematics. The Case for Rich Contexts in Ethnomathematics Lessons The potential of ethnomathematics to transform the self-concept and level of achievement of children in mathematics is increasingly recognized and well-documented. The Yup’ik project for Alaskan elementary students prov...
In this article, I report on a teaching experiment in which undergraduate algebra students studie... more In this article, I report on a teaching experiment in which undergraduate algebra students studied exponential growth as a means of understanding the effects of infectious diseases on personal income internationally The social science context of economic epidemiology in this application differed from many tr·eatments of context in mathematics because the context was dynamic it was a site of active learning in which students encountered social science learning goals alongside mathematical tasks I outline the teaching opportmtities and dilemmas posed by a strongly interdisciplinary approach to context, one in which the issues and fOrms of analysis of each discipline, in this case mathematics and social science, are treated equally This discussion is intended to help frarue research questions on mathematics applications presented tlnuugh significant non-mathematical contexts
Adopting inquiry-based science and mathematics pedagogies changes traditional classroom communica... more Adopting inquiry-based science and mathematics pedagogies changes traditional classroom communication patterns. Linguistic research in science and mathematics classrooms has identified communication techniques that help teachers manage classroom discussions to increase student interaction and a sense of student responsibility for learning. These communicative techniques strengthen access for underrepresented populations in science and mathematics while enhancing learning for majority population students.
... Through the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics, a group of scholars built upon the... more ... Through the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics, a group of scholars built upon the theoretical work ... Ubiratan D'Ambrosio (Powell & Frankenstein, 1997c), this group of scholars hasexplored theoretical frameworks for teaching and learning as a dynamic ...
This project presentation reports on a conversation amongst in-service secondary mathematics teac... more This project presentation reports on a conversation amongst in-service secondary mathematics teachers who had just participated in a social justice mathematics professional development session. As they discussed how they might incorporate the social justice activity into their classes, their conversation invoked a wide range of timescales. Timescales, as presented by Lemke, are categories of actions that are somewhat predictable, periodic and that either constrain or enact agency. Collectively, the teachers mentioned 20 timescales that imagine forms of agency that unfold over a range of time frames, from a moment to nearly a century. Timescale analysis of this conversation reveals the intensively hegemonic conditions which teachers must consider when preparing to teach transgressively.
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