Collaborative Research: Reshaping Mathematical Identity by Valuing Creativity in Calculus

University Of La Verne, La Verne CA

Investigators

Abstract

In this collaborative project, the University of La Verne and the University of Oklahoma will develop, assess, and share teaching strategies to better prepare students for STEM careers. According to recent reports from IBM and the World Economic Forum, creativity is one of the most sought-after skills in STEM occupations. Thus, helping undergraduates develop creativity could support the future success of our nation's STEM workforce. Creativity in mathematics is an under-researched but very significant area of study in undergraduate students' mathematical learning. This collaborative project will study creativity and its relationship to students' identity as mathematicians and confidence. The study will investigate the effects of incorporating mathematical creativity exercises into an introductory calculus course. This course is a prime target for creativity training, since passing calculus is required for most students who wish to major in STEM fields. The implementation of professional development and studying its effects on both faculty and students will result in recommendations for university instructors to enhance mathematical creativity early in students' STEM undergraduate careers. The project has two goals: To develop and use an existing Creativity-in-Progress Rubric (CPR) on Problem Solving to explicitly value creativity in Calculus I and to investigate the effects of valuing creativity using the CPR on Problem Solving on students' identities as mathematicians. This work will be done through multiple implementations at various institutions, including the collaborating universities and the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Northern Colorado Greely, the University of New Haven, and California State Polytechnic University Pomona. The project will investigate how instructors: a) explicitly value creativity through their various uses of the CPR on Problem Solving; b) assess creativity-based tasks; and c) attend to students' affect throughout the course. A part of the project is situated within Hispanic-Serving Institutions, providing the potential to further identify effectiveness of creativity-centered pedagogies on Latinx students and potentially broaden the impact of this project. The intersection of teaching strategies for creativity and equity will be the focus of an additional exploration. Through developing students' creativity, the project aims to build equity in the mathematics classroom, with the ultimate goal of building equity in the STEM workforce. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.