Fall Imagine It Report
I read Gloria Ladson-Billings’ The DreamKeepers. Ladson-Billings profiles a select group of highly effective teacher, the DreamKeepers. All of these teachers have different styles, but one common theme that struck a chord with me was cultural relevancy and the importance of teaching with your students’ strengths and weaknesses in mind. I have always struggled with cultural relevancy. Math is such an “old” and “mandatory” subject, yet how could I make it culturally relevant?
I asked my fellow colleagues and a select group of students how I could go about this. Some of my fellow colleagues suggested that it might makes sense to look at math with a historical lens and highlight math histories that are underrepresented in mainstream American textbooks. When I asked my students, they weren’t really sure how to answer the question. They enjoy solving math problems, and the validation that comes with that; several students plan to be an engineer so they see math as a tool to help them achieve their goals. I broadened the question and asked them what they would do to convince more students to pursue math. They observed that other students would say that they “hated” math, and just wanted to stick with easier problems. One student pointed out that math can be super challenging because you can’t mess up early on or it will come back in later years. To cap the discussion, most students agreed that we should try to change the image of math in a broader school environment.
I started my ImagineIt by thinking about how to create an environment where students can engage in mathematical proof. I want to create a community where students embrace the challenge of a hard proof, and learn the language of higher level mathematics. Within that frame, I think my ImagineIt has taken on an additional focus of cultural relevancy. How can we do something that really sticks so that students have ownership of what they create? I think that can be very meaningful. I have a diverse class, and it’s really fantastic when students are able to work together on the board as well as in groups to create proof. I have also blended my DeepPlay 20Time project with my ImagineIt class, so that every 5th class we spend on a math project that students have imagined themselves.
For round2, I am thinking about how to get to the next level of community. I want students to do a teaching project, where they really dive into a particular topic and present their work to the class. It would be fantastic if we can make this public, with a video or a showcase so that they can really show what they know. I will think a bit more about how to set this up over the next few weeks, perhaps with a list of topics they can pursue and learn about. Perhaps this can even be something where they show their mathematical work to underclassmen in their classes as well.
I asked my fellow colleagues and a select group of students how I could go about this. Some of my fellow colleagues suggested that it might makes sense to look at math with a historical lens and highlight math histories that are underrepresented in mainstream American textbooks. When I asked my students, they weren’t really sure how to answer the question. They enjoy solving math problems, and the validation that comes with that; several students plan to be an engineer so they see math as a tool to help them achieve their goals. I broadened the question and asked them what they would do to convince more students to pursue math. They observed that other students would say that they “hated” math, and just wanted to stick with easier problems. One student pointed out that math can be super challenging because you can’t mess up early on or it will come back in later years. To cap the discussion, most students agreed that we should try to change the image of math in a broader school environment.
I started my ImagineIt by thinking about how to create an environment where students can engage in mathematical proof. I want to create a community where students embrace the challenge of a hard proof, and learn the language of higher level mathematics. Within that frame, I think my ImagineIt has taken on an additional focus of cultural relevancy. How can we do something that really sticks so that students have ownership of what they create? I think that can be very meaningful. I have a diverse class, and it’s really fantastic when students are able to work together on the board as well as in groups to create proof. I have also blended my DeepPlay 20Time project with my ImagineIt class, so that every 5th class we spend on a math project that students have imagined themselves.
For round2, I am thinking about how to get to the next level of community. I want students to do a teaching project, where they really dive into a particular topic and present their work to the class. It would be fantastic if we can make this public, with a video or a showcase so that they can really show what they know. I will think a bit more about how to set this up over the next few weeks, perhaps with a list of topics they can pursue and learn about. Perhaps this can even be something where they show their mathematical work to underclassmen in their classes as well.
These guys are just asking to learn about knot theory with this!