Preparing Mathematics Teachers to Teach for Justice and Joy in High-Needs Schools

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national need for preparing high-quality secondary mathematics teachers in high-need school districts. Towards this end the project will focus particular attention on examples of how mathematical modeling and analysis can be used to reveal and investigate issues of social inequity that affect local communities where teachers may be placed. The investigators posit that such an approach will improve on more traditional mathematics instruction where students often leave class asking, “Why do I need to know this?”, and that it will illustrate how mathematics can be used to create a more socially just world. Additionally, instead of students leaving with a negative disposition toward the field of mathematics, this project will support teachers in creating joyful mathematical experiences that excite and engage students. Students who have a productive relationship with mathematics are more likely to pursue careers that require a mathematical background. Moreover, students who understand that mathematics has the power to describe the world can value mathematics beyond career choices; they can use mathematics to advocate for themselves and others when they see injustices in their community. By supporting preservice and beginning teachers in developing teaching philosophies and practices that highlight justice and joy in their lessons, more students are likely to engage with mathematics and see it as relevant to their lives. This project at Boston University includes partnerships with the Boston Public Schools, Malden Public Schools, and Waltham Public Schools. Over a five-year period, the project intends to recruit a mix of 31 STEM professionals and highly talented post-baccalaureate students who possess a degree in a STEM discipline, most often mathematics, to teach secondary mathematics in a high-need school district. This project seeks to address the need for preparing and retaining highly effective secondary mathematics teachers in high-need-school districts who are properly trained in facilitating joyful mathematical experiences in the classroom while simultaneously increasing students’ critical consciousness of how mathematics can illuminate issues of racism and other social injustices. This project will contribute to the improvement of mathematics education at the secondary level by pursuing the following two objectives. First is to generate an exemplary model for recruiting, training and retaining a diverse mathematics teacher community with a commitment to and facility with using examples of how mathematics can be applied to investigate issues of social justice. Second is to disseminate findings of this project through publications and conference presentations to teacher educators and researchers who study how teachers learn to implement and center justice-oriented mathematics. This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts. 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.