what is our project?
watch the video below to find out!
how do thoughts about math change throughout K-12 education?
"Elementary for me was very individual learning, we were all in a classroom but you would follow the workbooks and do the assignments and turn them in, maybe ask for help if you needed it. I don’t remember finding it very easy to learn this way so math used to really frustrate me."
we asked you all to pick the words that you associated with math during different stages of your educations. here's what you told us:
elementary
school
"I remember that in 5th grade, a few 'gifted' kids were pulled out of class to learn about negative numbers."
"I had an elementary school math teacher who seems to be angry all the time... and she is very tough to learn from too."
initial interest in STEM. Before 5th grade, I always had bad grades in math, so she really boosted my self-confidence in math."
"In 5th grade, I had a really awesome math and science teacher, so she sparked my
middle
school
"The first time we were distinguished with “advanced” classes was 7th grade for advanced math (which was the only advanced option). I was super strong in math - this was before grades but i usually got 100s. My 6th grade teacher told me I was not set out for advanced math because I did not seek challenges enough the classroom. She pointed to some BS examples that had more to do with my friends then me. Then 8th grade advanced math was only for those who took it in 7th grade."
"In middle school that's when the honors and non-honors split started and it carried into high school as well with the inclusion of APs. I think a big reason I had so much insecurity and stress out of math was bc although I was an 'honors' student, I was shy and also the only black student so I was scared to ask questions or seek help unlike my white male peers."
"From 8th grade, my charter school separated students into groups: an accelerated math track and a regular one. So after eight grade, people would either take
advanced algebra or regular algebra. If you took advanced algebra, it eventually meant that by the end of our senior year, we would take AP Calc BC and we could not opt out of this at all."
high
school
"Through K-8 math was hard, and I avoided it often. High school was when the avoidance truly escalated. I had a teacher in the 10th grade who encouraged me to study math, but all the other years I felt discouraged and that it was not for me. I spent my public school education years skirting through math as under the radar as I could manage."
"I think I found math boring and since I never understood the logic pretty difficult. Once I got to high school I already had it in my head I was too dumb for higher level math, so I opted into the lesser math classes."
"High school math was extremely difficult for me because I couldn’t understand how math could be applied to the
'real world' except for finance."
"If you took advanced algebra, it eventually meant that by the end of our senior year, we would take AP Calc BC and we could not opt out of this at all. I was placed on the advanced track and for the most part, I did not hate it but then when I started taking higher level calc classes, it was very fast paced. Because the end goal was to just pass the AP exam, it was hard for me to admit when I was struggling or that things needed to be slowed down, which made me end up hating calculus."
note: we had 28 responses on this survey
in sum...
notice that the selection of positive words (fun, easy, useful)—specifically ‘fun’—decreases, while negative words—especially ‘stressful’ and ‘hard’—increases, indicating that as students continue their educations, math becomes more associated with negative emotions rather than positive ones, suggesting that
as grade levels rise, joy is sucked out of math.
purpose of education:
we believe that the purpose of education is to encourage a growth mindset and allow for students to explore all topics to their greatest potential, regardless of gender norms. this means that the instruction of all subjects, including math, must be taught in a way that caters to various learning styles and that builds confidence in students.
math education in the US is currently not meeting these needs...
how does the way K-12 math is taught impact the confidence of students?
math instruction that focuses on memorization and quick answers causes more anxiety for students.
-
ex: timed quizzes for times tables, addition/subtraction, etc.
“And if [math is] being taught in a way where you’re not able to pull any of that creative joy out of it, that makes you kind of step away.” - President Beilock, Barnard
certain methods of teaching discourage students from math
the higher someone’s math anxiety is, the less likely they are to continue trying to solve harder math problems.
researchers have identified this as a cycle of anxiety and avoidance that persists.
when children feel as though they are incompetent at math, they value it less.
a study by the Journal of Early Adolescence identifies that even though the grades of students stayed around the same, the way they perceived and interpreted their general competence decreased.
US girls and low-income students are at higher risk of math anxiety and are significantly less confident with their ability to apply math.
although the US (based on PISA - Program for International Student Assessment scores) closed the math achievement gap between girls and boys from 2003 to 2018, their lack of confidence did not change. most recently, the PISA noted that only 10% of top-performing girls in math are interested in going into a STEM field, compared to 3 times that percentage in boys.
studies have shown that people’s desires to pursue math rely heavily on their attitudes and confidence during their younger years, regardless of if they get better at math once older.
math avoidance stems from anxiety
confidence tends to decrease during middle school
despite closing the general math achievement gap, women are significantly less confident in math
what are the factors that cause one to split from identifying as a "STEM person"?
Wendy Lutrell
defines
splitting
as what happens
when the self gives
up a part of
themselves because
that part is devalued
and the other
part is
idealized.
“that the desire for intellectual, creative or interpersonal mastery and autonomy jeopardizes a woman's "social" self and "connection to others" is a cultural assumption impeding women's development...certain aspects of the self can threaten or endanger both the subject/self and others, and that one way to assuage this threat is to split off (and deny, disavow, or repudiate) those needs and desires which are least acceptable (and most threatening) to ourselves and others.”
Lutrell states...
Luttrell, W. (1996) Becoming somebody in and against school.
the effects of splitting can be seen when a student says
they are or are not a “STEM person.” splitting had to occur for a student to make this declaration about themselves. through the analysis of our data along with outside research, we found that there are several factors that contribute to this identity or lack thereof.
in-class experiences and feelings
family values
identity
"In 5th grade, I had a really awesome math and science teacher, so she sparked my initial interest in STEM. Before 5th grade, I always had bad grades in math, so she really boosted my self-confidence in math."
this student now identifies as a STEM person
"I remember math always being too easy but feeling like I wasn’t good at it because most of my peers were in advanced or a year ahead. I clung more to…humanities as a result and have ended up labeling myself as disliking math. Not because of the subject itself but because the system never worked in my favor. I really like math! But I don’t like the spaces and the feelings associated with it."
“I didn’t always like math…Once [my dad] started this math competition between me and my cousins and I got nervous and wrote everything wrong and got lectured for doing so. I felt humiliated. After that day, I decided that I would be the best at math. So I worked on it and became the best that I can be.”
this student now identifies as a STEM person
"My parents...aren't really STEM people, so I felt like I could be bad at STEM and that was acceptable."
this student now identifies as not a STEM person
“I have always loved math and…science. It kind of became part of my identity. I was known as the math kid or the girl who’s good at organic chemistry. It gave me confidence.“
this student now identifies as a STEM person
"In middle school that's when the honors and non-honors split started and it carried into high school as well with the inclusion of APs. I think a big reason I had so much insecurity and stress out of math was bc although I was an 'honors' student, I was shy and also the only black student so I was scared to ask questions or seek help unlike my white male peers."
this student now identifies as not a STEM person
this student now identifies as not a STEM person
now, let's look at some numbers
we created a variable called 'sentiment score' and gave everyone an initial score of 0. we added one point to your score for each positive word you selected (easy, fun, useful) and subtracted one point for each negative word you selected (boring, hard, stressful).
SENTIMENT
SCORES
GRAPH 1: whether STEM people had more positive sentiment about math growing up
notice that in elementary and middle school, those who identified themselves as STEM people today had a much higher average math sentiment than those who did not, but that there was a much smaller difference between STEM person and non-STEM person sentiment in high school. this suggests that attitudes and experiences in elementary school and middle school are key to whether students go on to view themselves as STEM people in a way that high school isn’t, suggesting that it is especially important to focus on improving students’ STEM experiences in their younger years.
also notice that sentiments are very negative in high school, even for STEM people. this suggests that we are doing a bad job of keeping the joy of math alive in high school and teaching math in a way that is too stressful and pressure-filled.
GRAPH 2: how sentiment about math at different points in schooling effects whether you identify as a STEM person in college
a key feature to notice in this graph is that 0% of people with negative sentiment scores in elementary school identified as STEM people in college. this shows how early math experiences and attitudes can have lasting impacts on students’ future STEM attitudes.
notice that the elementary school and middle school sentiments had a much stronger correlation with whether one identifies as a ‘STEM person’ today then high school sentiments do, further illustrating that early experiences with math are key, more so than later ones, to future STEM attitudes.
GRAPH 3: math sentiments over stages of schooling
notice that sentiments become more negative as students move from elementary school to middle school to high school. the downward trend can also be seen in the average sentiments. the elementary school average sentiment is 0.140, the middle school average sentiment is -0.107, and the high school average sentiment is -1.1.
counterclaim: girls are naturally more inclined to subjects like reading, even if they are good at STEM
a research paper published in the Psychological Science by psychologists Gijsbert Stoet and David Geary found that across 67 countries, girls generally performed at around the same level as boys in science in math classes.
however, when it came to relative strengths, boys’ best subjects were science, whereas girls’ best subjects were reading.
researcher Geary attributes this gap in reading to “girls’ advantages in basic language abilities and a generally greater interest in reading.”
even if girls are relatively stronger at reading, this does not make them any less capable of succeeding in math. note that it is most likely a reflection of socialization, such as girls being indirectly told throughout their lives that math is not meant for them, that has caused girls to stray away from math subjects and
pursue reading heavy ones instead.
soooo how can we re-imagine math education to make it a whole lot better for you all and the rest of the world?? here's a couple ideas...
TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO STUDY BEYOND MEMORIZATION, REPETITION, AND REGURGITATION
FOCUS ON TEACHING
THE UNDERLYING CORE CONCEPTS
BREAK ASSIGNMENTS INTO SMALLER STEPS
ENSURE THAT
STUDENTS AREN'T FEELING OVERWHELMED BY
GIANT TASKS
IMPLEMENT CREATIVE METHODS OF TEACHING
EX: INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING THAT EMBEDS MATH CONCEPTS (LITERALLY THIS WEBSITE)
ADAPT CURRICULUM TO OUR EVER CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
IMPLEMENT COOL TECHNOLOGY & WEB GAMES INTO COURSE MATERIAL
TEACH TO THE WHOLE STUDENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING DIFFERENT NEEDS OF EACH STUDENT AND ENCOURAGE ✨ GROWTH MINDSET ✨
RECOGNIZE THAT STUDENTS HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM THAT AFFECTS THEIR PERFORMANCE IN CLASS