Ear to the Ground features voices from several corners of the mathematics education world.
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Jody Guarino and Sara Manseau
Read about Diego, a kindergarten student, as he develops his mathematical identity and competency.
Janice Novakowski
Mathematical storytelling is a way for young children to make connections between mathematics and their lives. The practices of using equations and materials are shared as sparks for mathematical storytelling.
Timothy L. Weekes
This department provides a space for current and past PK-12 teachers of mathematics to connect with other teachers of mathematics through their stories that lend personal and professional support.
Oyemolade Osibodu, Sunghwan Byun, Victoria Hand, and Carlos LópezLeiva
Mathematics education researchers concerned with justice and rehumanizing mathematics education are increasingly calling for research that takes seriously the values, commitments, and voices of the communities for which the research is most consequential. Exclusion of or superficial engagement with these perspectives and experiences in research and design processes have perpetuated deficit perspectives of minoritized communities, rendering them simply the object of reform efforts. Consequently, this Research Commentary conceptualizes a participatory turn in mathematics education research, offering a set of commitments that guide and examine the possibilities and tensions of such a turn.
Maxine T. Roberts and Daniel J. Almeida
We present findings from a study about obstacles that Black students who succeeded in developmental mathematics in community college reported having endured in those mathematics classrooms. To understand the types of obstacles that can arise for students in these classrooms, we analyze data using two frameworks: mathematics identity and dimensions of mathematics classrooms. Study participants faced obstacles in three categories: (a) impressions of faculty’s instructional practices for problem solving; (b) negative race-related perceptions they believed classmates had about them; and (c) perceptions about instructors’ expectations. These findings contribute to literature on Black students’ progress in mathematics by identifying obstacles experienced by students who achieve in these courses and can also inform professional development learning for mathematics faculty.
Kate Roscioli and Jennifer Suh
Learn how to engage students in geometry concepts through a real-world task that leverages GeoGebra to provide students with generalization and authorship opportunities.
Toni L. Amarel and Megan H. Wickstrom
What tales would your students tell about their mathematical experiences? In this article, we describe a task, The Math Metaphor, and how it was utilized in a high school classroom as a window to explore students’ experiences with mathematics.
Dana L. Grosser-Clarkson and Joanna S. Hung
This Perspectives on Practice manuscript focuses on an innovation associated with “Engaging Teachers in the Powerful Combination of Mathematical Modeling and Social Justice: The Flint Water Task” from Volume 7, Issue 2 of MTE. The Flint Water Task has shown great promise in achieving the dual goals of exploring mathematical modeling while building awareness of social justice issues. This Perspectives on Practice article focuses on two adaptations of the task—gallery walks and What I Know, What I Wonder, What I Learned (KWL) charts—that we have found to enhance these learning opportunities. We found that the inclusion of a gallery walk supported our students in the development of their mathematical modeling skills by enhancing both the mathematical analyses of the models and the unpacking of assumptions. The KWL chart helps students document their increase in knowledge of the social justice issues surrounding the water crisis. Using the mathematical modeling cycle to explore social justice issues allows instructors to bring humanity into the mathematics classroom.
Kathryn Early, K. Elizabeth Hammonds, Brea Ratliff, Mariya Rosenhammer, and W. Gary Martin
A high-leverage strategy first discussed more than 50 years ago, wait time has many benefits for both teachers and students yet is not used to its full potential. See how it can enhance your students’ mathematical discourse.
