Focus on Inquiry and Equity in Mathematics for Education

Challenge

Although mathematics is a continuously evolving discipline, the field of mathematics has often excluded people of color and other marginalized populations. This underrepresentation has created unbalanced notions about who gets to teach and study mathematics, as well as who creates and investigates questions in mathematics.

Many university mathematicians and mathematics educators are working to shift these perceptions. Partnering with Iowa State University and the University of Delaware, EDC developed a yearlong fellowship program for university faculty in mathematics and mathematics education to examine their own teaching practices through the lenses of equity and mathematical inquiry. In addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a mathematical context, the project sought to expand historical notions of what mathematics is and who it is for.

Key Activities

The project carried out the following activities:

Develop and conduct a summer immersion workshop for 24 faculty in mathematics and mathematics education
Support academic year collaborations between faculty from university mathematics departments and schools of education
Create a research group to investigate the complexity of the relationship between mathematics inquiry and equitable mathematics teaching

Impact

Supported 24 mathematics and mathematics education faculty with opportunities for collaboration and learning from and with each other.
Results from the collaborations in this project included mathematics investigations centered on the opioid crisis for teachers, students, and pre-service teachers in Ohio; a workshop to explore issues of equitable access in the digital mathematics space at the beginning of the pandemic; and a lesson on the mathematics of the spread of COVID-19, which was made available to Hawaiian students through the Hawaii public library system.