We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Undergraduate Mathematics Students Question and Critique Society Through Mathematical Modeling
Summary
In two undergraduate mathematics courses, 27 students engaged in mathematical modeling tasks situated in authentic real-world contexts to examine how modeling can be used to question and critique societal issues. The study explored how the modeling process enables students to connect mathematical tools to broader social and environmental concerns.
Mathematics can be used as a tool to question and critique society and, in doing so, give us more information about the world around us and how it operates. This however, is not a common perspective that is conveyed to students during their undergraduate mathematics coursework. This paper contributes to the understanding of how undergraduate mathematics students question and critique society via mathematical modeling tasks. In two courses at two universities, 27 mathematics majors and secondary preservice teachers engaged in the modeling process situated in authentic contexts to learn specific concepts and make mathematical connections across domains and disciplines. Both courses culminated in a final project in which students created and investigated solutions to their own modeling tasks. In this paper, we describe how our courses (1) centered justice as pedagogy, (2) were environments for student agency and exploration, and (3) explicitly demonstrated how mathematics and social justice are intertwined. Drawing on frameworks of mathematical modeling for social justice, we present and analyze student-created tasks to showcase how they utilized mathematics as a tool to question and critique the world around them.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Academic Literacy Supporting Sustainability for Mathematics Education—A Case: Collaborative Working as a Meaning Making for “2/3”?
This case study examines collaborative mathematics education as a tool for building academic literacy in support of sustainability goals. The paper discusses how group problem-solving around mathematical concepts can foster sustainable thinking in students.
Arousing Early Strategic Thinking about SDGs with Real Mathematics Problems
Researchers explored whether training secondary school mathematics teachers to design problems framed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could improve student engagement with sustainability and perceptions of mathematics usefulness. The qualitative teacher training program produced original math problems integrating secondary curriculum content with the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs.
Curriculum development for student agency on sustainability issues: An exploratory study
Researchers developed an exploratory middle-school sustainability curriculum designed to foster student agency by challenging students to analyze real-world data, construct scientific arguments, and engage in activism around sustainability issues framed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Modeling the Global Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans
Students built a mathematical model to estimate global plastic waste generation and ocean runoff from 1980 to 2015 using publicly available data. The model forecasts continued growth in ocean plastic accumulation, underscoring the need for systemic changes in plastic production and waste management to prevent further marine contamination.
Knowledge-Building Approach to Address Societal Grand Challenge in Large-Enrollment Introductory Materials Science and Engineering Course
Researchers implemented a knowledge-building pedagogical approach in a large-enrollment introductory materials science and engineering course to address societal grand challenges, engaging students in collaborative inquiry around topics including sustainable materials, nanomaterials, and catalysis. The study evaluates how the approach fostered deep conceptual understanding and awareness of real-world engineering implications among undergraduate students.