Lesson Study Team: Monique Sias, David Garcia, Jennifer Rivera, & Katelyn Livingstone
Research Goal: How can we support students in recognizing their own and one another’s mathematical brilliance in order to disrupt status in the math classroom?
Theory of Action:If we implement routines and teach strategies within our math classroom designed to help students notice brilliance and status in themselves and others thenthey will be empowered to call each other in, appreciate, and utilize each others’ ideas resulting inthe disruption of the status differential and students seeing themselves as mathematicians.
Equity goal: Students will be provided tools and/or strategies, such as rapid-fire questions (Google Jamboard) , and sentence starters, in order to disrupt status in the classroom.
Review of Literature
Mathematical identity is shaped by classroom environment, culture, relationships with peers, and experiences with teachers. As educators, we are learning to design math classrooms in which students are challenged in facilitative, equitable, and creative ways. In order for all students to access deeper learning in math, we must also work to understand and disrupt issues of status in our learning communities. Uncovering and celebrating mathematical brilliance is one tool in helping students see themselves and each other as successful, collaborative learners. In this study, we researched and implemented strategies that aim to highlight brilliant mathematical thinking in order to eliminate the status differential among middle school learners.
Student Identity and Humanizing Mathematics Rehumanizing mathematics is a practice that empowers students to see mathematics in themselves and their own lives and reclaiming access from what has previously been seen as a singular path toward answer finding (Goffney et al 2018). Knowing the diverse cultural, cognitive, and personal needs of your students as well as knowing how the world around them is impacting them is imperative to good teaching and learning. Culturally responsive teaching likewise allows students to access academic content and reach higher understanding through harnessing the unique cultural tools and values that students bring into the classroom and utilizing them to deliver instruction and build relationships (Hammond 2014). In math class, culturally responsive teaching not only means building strong personal connections with students but also accessing funds of knowledge in order to help them connect math to the real world, rendering math as a useful tool enacting change in the world, and teaching math to their unique and diverse learning modes.
Cognitive Support Students need to feel safe in order to learn. Safety comes from them feeling like you care about them, you see and hear them, their peers respect them, and they see themselves represented in the math and in the classroom (Hammond 2014). All students are capable of deep mathematical thinking but can disassociate with a mathematical identity because of a lack of success in traditional classroom settings that don’t teach to their needs or provide context that connects math to the real world. Our lesson study framed the content goals within a real world example that students cared about and could see utility in: the air quality of their city. Facilitative teaching that centers student voice also helps students develop positive math identity. Through discussion, students can learn to build on one another’s ideas and reach deeper thinking on their own if they have the tools to make connections and value one another’s thinking. In centering student voices, we shift from trying to "change" a child (by imparting knowledge, setting expectations, and altering behaviors) to allowing them to be the agent of change in their own experiences (Toshalis et al 2012). Student voice activities commit to centering around students needs and interests. Student voice does not just mean students speaking their minds, rather, it is the leading in and constructing of their own learning experiences (Toshalis et al 2012).
Teaching Strategies One way to center student voices, according to an excerpt from Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice, is asking for and implementing feedback from students. When students feel like their voice is centered in a leadership role, they feel more confident, responsible, and a sense of belonging (Toshalis et al 2012). Our lesson study incorporated this through an exit slip at the end of class that asked how they felt about their learning and group work that day. Following through and using the feedback we received in future lessons will show students their thoughts and feelings are valued and respected. Another key piece of our study is selecting focus students to observe and collect data from. Hammond suggests tracking interactions with students, focusing on students you would like to have a better relationship with, and practicing affirmation with all students (2014). Finally, from Teaching When the World is on Fire, good teachers must design lessons and projects around things we know our students are interested in and care about. Listen to them, and let them lead (Delpit 2019). Our study was designed and adjusted based on our group of students’ unique needs and abilities.
Reference List
Brooks, L. A., & Dixon, J. K. (2013). Changing the rules to increase discourse. Teaching Children Mathematics, 20(2), 84-89.
Delpit, L. (Ed.). (2019). Teaching when the World is on Fire. The New Press.
Goffney, I., Gutiérrez, R., & Boston, M. (Eds.) (2018). Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students. (Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education; Vol. 2018). National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.
Pond, K. (2020, September) Personal Interview.
Toshalis, E., & Nakkula, M. J. (2012). Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice, (23-29), Students at the Center: Teaching and Learning in the Era of Common Core.