Developing Equity Literacy and Critical Statistical Literacy in Secondary Mathematics Preservice Teachers

Author:
Stephanie Casey Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti

Search for other papers by Stephanie Casey in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
and
Andrew Ross Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti

Search for other papers by Andrew Ross in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close

There is a lack of teacher education materials that develop equity literacy in content courses for preservice secondary mathematics teachers. In response, we created teacher education curriculum materials for introductory statistics that include an integrated focus on developing equity literacy and critical statistical literacy.

In this article, we provide an overview of our materials’ design along with a detailed look at one activity regarding racial demographics and tracking in high school STEM courses. We present evidence regarding the positive impact of these materials on the teacher candidates’ competency, value, and likelihood of applying their equity literacy and critical statistical literacy. Implications for mathematics teacher educators working to develop equity literacy together with content knowledge are discussed.

Contributor Notes

Stephanie Casey, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197; scasey1@emich.edu

Andrew Ross, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197; aross15@emich.edu

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Mathematics Teacher Educator
  • 1.

    Aguirre, J., Anhalt, C., Cortez, R., Turner, E., & Simic-Muller, K. (2019). Engaging teachers in the powerful combination of mathematical modeling and social justice: The Flint water task. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 7(2), 726.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 2.

    Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. (2017). Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics. Author.

  • 3.

    Bailey, N. G., & McCulloch, A. W. (2019). Undergraduates’ expression of critical statistical literacy. In S. Otten, A. G. Candela, Z. de Araujo, C. Haines, & C. Munter (Eds.), Proceedings of the forty-first annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. University of Missouri. http://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings /PMENA%2041%202019%20Proceedings.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 4.

    Banilower, E. R., Smith, P. S., Weiss, I. R., Malzahn, K. A., Campbell, K. M., & Weis, A. M. (2013). Report of the 2012 national survey of science and mathematics education. Horizon Research Inc.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 5.

    Bargagliotti, A., Franklin, C., Arnold, P., Gould, R., Johnson, S., Perez, L., & Spangler, D. (2020). Pre-K–12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) report II. American Statistical Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. https://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/GAISE/GAISEIIPreK-12_Full.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 6.

    Berry, III, R. Q., Conway, IV, B. M., Lawler, B. R., & Staley, J. W. (2020). High school mathematics lessons to explore, understand, and respond to social injustice. Corwin Press and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 7.

    Casey, S., Ross, A., Maddox, S., & Wilson, M. (2019). MODULE(S2): Statistics for secondary mathematics teaching. Association of Public Land Grant Universities. http://www.modules2.com

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 8.

    Curcio, F. R. (1987). Comprehension of mathematical relationships expressed in graphs. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 18(5), 382393. https://doi.org/10.2307/749086

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 9.

    Franklin, C. A., Bargagliotti, A. E., Case, C. A., Kader, G. D., Schaeffer, R. L., & Spangler, D. A. (2015). Statistical education of teachers. American Statistical Association. https://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/EDU-SET.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 10.

    Gal, I. (2002). Adults’ statistical literacy: Meaning, components, responsibilities. International Statistical Review, 70(1), 125.

  • 11.

    Gallivan, H. R. (2017). Supporting prospective middle school teachers’ learning to revise a high-level mathematics task to be culturally relevant. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 5(2), 94121.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 12.

    Gorski, P. (2013). Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap. Teachers College Press.

  • 13.

    Gorski, P. (2018). Reaching and teaching students in poverty: Strategies for erasing the opportunity gap (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 14.

    Gorski, P. (2020). Equity literacy for educators: Definition and abilities. http://www.edchange.org/handouts/Equity-Literacy-Intro-Abilities.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 15.

    Gutiérrez, R. (2007). (Re)defining equity: The importance of a critical perspective. In N. S. Nasir & P. Cobb (Eds.), Improving access to mathematics: Diversity and equity in the classroom (pp. 3750). Teachers College Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 16.

    Gutstein, E. (2006). Reading and writing the world with mathematics: Toward a pedagogy for social justice. Routledge.

  • 17.

    Hill, H. C., Ball, D. L., & Schilling, S. G. (2008). Unpacking pedagogical content knowledge: Conceptualizing and measuring teachers’ topic-specific knowledge of students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 372400.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 18.

    Markow, D., Macia, L., & Lee, H. (2012). The MetLife survey of the American teacher: Challenges for school leadership (A Survey of Teachers and Principals). Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 19.

    Martin, D. B. (2015). The collective black and Principles to Actions. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 8(1), 1723. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v8i1a270

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 20.

    Michigan Department of Education. (2020). Standards for the preparation of teachers of mathematics middle grades (5–9) and high school (7–12). https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Mathematics_Standards_5-9_7-12_699273_7.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 21.

    Mintos, A., Hoffman, A. J., Kersey, E., Newton, J., & Smith, D. (2019). Learning about issues of equity in secondary mathematics teacher education programs. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 22(5), 433458. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-018-9398-2

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 22.

    NCSM & TODOS: Mathematics for All. (2016). Mathematics education through the lens of social justice: Acknowledgment, actions, and accountability. A joint position statement from NCSM and TODOS: Mathematics for All.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 23.

    National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2018). Catalyzing change in high school mathematics: Initiating critical conversations. Author.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 24.

    Quealy, K., & Sanger-Katz, M. (2016, July 5). Is sushi ’healthy’? What about granola? Where Americans and nutritionists disagree. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/05/upshot/is-sushi-healthy-what-about-granola-where-americans-and-nutritionists-disagree.html

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 25.

    Roth McDuffie, A., Foote, M. Q., Drake, C., Turner, E., Aguirre, J., Bartell, T. G., & Bolson, C. (2014). Use of video analysis to support prospective K–8 teachers’ noticing of equitable practices. Mathematics Teacher Educator, 2(2), 108140.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 26.

    Rowland, T., Thwaites, A., & Jared, L. (2016, July 24–31). Analyzing secondary mathematics teaching with the Knowledge Quartet [Paper presentation.] The 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education, Hamburg, Germany.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 27.

    Singleton, G. E. (2021). Courageous conversations about race: A field guide for achieving equity in schools and beyond (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 28.

    Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Sage Publications.

  • 29.

    TODOS: Mathematics for All. (2020). The Mo(ve)ment to prioritize antiracist mathematics: Planning for this and every school year. https://www.todos-math.org/assets/images/The%20Movement%20to%20Prioritize%20Antiracist%20Mathematics%20final%203.0_v6.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 30.

    U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (2018). STEM course taking: Data highlights on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics course taking in our nation’s public schools. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/stem-course-taking.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 31.

    Wallman, K. K. (1993). Enhancing statistical literacy: Enriching our society. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 88(421), 18.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 32.

    Weiland, T. (2017). Problematizing statistical literacy: An intersection of critical and statistical literacies. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 96(1), 3347.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 33.

    Weiner, J. (2021). riverplot: Sankey or Ribbon Plots. R package version 0.10. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=riverplot

  • 34.

    Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 6881.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 760 433 20
Full Text Views 222 139 11
PDF Downloads 327 214 16
EPUB Downloads 0 0 0