TEEM 7 - 2016 

p. 9 Mathematics Education and Social Justice: A Conversation with Danny Martin
Julia M. Aguirre

Abstract: Danny Martin is a professor of Education and Mathematics and University of Illinois Chicago. His groundbreaking scholarship on the mathematics socialization of African Americans has led to seminal pieces on the roles of race, identity, and mathematics education for Black children that critically inform current dialogues about mathematics education and social justice. His work inspires many scholars, teacher educators and teachers working to transform mathematical experiences of young people, especially those historically marginalized in schools. We have known each other for 20 years and have co-authored a book together. He is my friend and colleague, someone I continue to learn with and from in the fight for an equitable and just mathematics education for our nation’s youth. He sat down with me to discuss mathematics education from a lens of social justice. Our conversation expresses evolving views of the mathematics education landscape including why social justice in mathematics education is so important yet challenging; and, what solutions we can radically reimagine as we try to move forward to create the kind of just and humanizing mathematics education we want.
 

p. 15 That’s Not Fair and Why: Developing Social Justice Mathematics Activists in Pre-K
Theodore Chao and DeAndrea Jones

Abstract: Prekindergarten mathematics can be filled with rich, complex mathematical talk that moves beyond traditional counting and cardinality. When paired with issues of fairness, mathematics becomes a social justice tool that empowers prekindergarteners to mathematically recognize and address oppression they see in their own world. We profile the critical mathematics details in two Black history-based activities in which children use mathematics to describe and confront the unfairness they notice within Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman skits. Through these activities, children learn how to communicate and address the unfairness they see using mathematics. We also share instructional considerations and extensions for implementing these activities in the classroom. 
 

p. 22 Developing Sociopolitical Consciousness through Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun: An Interdisciplinary Project
Celethia Keith McNeil and Christopher Fairley, Jr.

Abstract: This article describes an interdisciplinary project that combined the subject matters of mathematics and English/language arts while adapting the storyline of A Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry, 1984). The key teaching objectives, in this project, were to progress students toward mastery of linear and exponential functions, show them a connection between literacy and mathematics, and educate them on the struggles of Black Americans. We position the mathematics portion of the project within a fitting framework for social justice teaching, discuss its emergence and implementation, and offer teacher and student reflections for future replication and refinement.
  

p. 36 Methods, Maps, and Meaningful Mathematics
Maria del Rosario Zavala

Abstract: This article is a reflection of one mathematics educator’s journey towards being a critical mathematics teacher educator. By illustrating the manner in which she selected, developed and provided an opportunity for bilingual pre-service teachers (BPSTs) to teach a mathematics lesson with a social justice component to fifth graders in a methods course, she reflects on her own growth and its potential for transformational pedagogy with her students and their future students. The decision-making process of task selection, introduction of the task to BPSTs, and the support provided to them to teach the lesson, is articulated in order to make visible the challenge in transforming a teaching practice. Mathematics educators who are also seeking to infuse more social-justice focused mathematics activities into their methods courses may relate to ideas in this article, and find support in reading the processes of an early-career teacher educator asking questions of her own praxis.
 

p. 45 Supporting Prospective Teachers in Using Mathematics to Understand Our World
Mathew D. Felton-Koestler and Emily Sutherland and Nicole Tracy

Abstract: We, a teacher educator and two of my former students, discuss the role of meaningful real-world connections as a means to creating a more equitable and socially just mathematics curriculum. First, Felton-Koestler describes his use of real-world projects in courses for future teachers. Then Sutherland and Tracy describe their experiences with the projects and give examples of the real-world connections they made. Finally, we consider some of the themes across the prospective teachers’ work and future directions for implementing this form of teaching in teacher education courses. 
 

p. 52 Strategies for Creative Insubordination in Mathematics Teaching
Rochelle Gutiérrez

Abstract: Mathematics teaching requires political agility on the part of teachers who must negotiate their contexts in order to advocate for their students. Yet, most teachers of mathematics are not prepared for this work. This article presents a set of strategies that teachers can use in their everyday interactions with administrators, colleagues, parents, and students when political scenarios arise related to mathematics teaching and learning.