The symposium will take place over three days in Atlanta, Georgia at the Atlanta University Center (AUC). Faculty will arrive on Friday and depart on Sunday afternoon. The symposium will begin with invited talks and continue with small group work across three broad strands of undergraduate mathematics (Strand 1: Early College Mathematics, Strand 2: The Calculus Sequence, Strand 3: Statistics and Data Science). The symposium will include group activities to help deepen faculty's understanding of social justice. The symposium will end with presentations and a working session to discuss and generate next steps for collaboration. The schedule of the symposium’s activities is provided below.
SCHEDULE
Friday June 7, DAY 1
1:00pm-5:00pm: Arrival and check-in
5:30pm: Van pick-up at hotel (meet in lobby)
6:00pm-8:00pm: Group dinner at Spelman College (Suites Private Dining Room)
Saturday June 8, DAY 2 (Spelman College)
8:00am-9:00am: Breakfast
9:00am-9:30am: Welcome and symposium overview
9:30am-11:00am: Plenary 1 - Invited talks by symposium speakers
11:15am-12:00pm: Group activity (led by Dr. David Kung)
12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm-2:30pm: Plenary 2 - Developing curriculum materials and modules
5:30pm: Day 1 Closing
7:30pm-9:00pm: Optional group social activity (Meet in hotel lobby at 7:15pm)
Sunday June 9, DAY 3 (Morehouse College)
9:00am-10:00am: Breakfast and Plenary 3: Teaching Social Justice Mathematics Panel
12:00pm-1:30pm: Lunch and course strand presentations
1:30pm-2:00pm: Day 2 Closing
2:00pm: Departures
Friday June 7, DAY 1
1:00pm-5:00pm: Arrival and check-in
5:30pm: Van pick-up at hotel (meet in lobby)
6:00pm-8:00pm: Group dinner at Spelman College (Suites Private Dining Room)
Saturday June 8, DAY 2 (Spelman College)
8:00am-9:00am: Breakfast
9:00am-9:30am: Welcome and symposium overview
9:30am-11:00am: Plenary 1 - Invited talks by symposium speakers
- Creating examples of mathematics for social justice for the classroom (Dr. Lily Khadjavi)
- Much of the mathematics instruction which we experienced may not have concerned itself with questions of human well-being, but in Mathematics and Democracy, Lynn Steen and his collaborators set an inspiring goal, for curricula and instruction that: ``empower people by giving them the tools to think for themselves, to ask intelligent questions of experts, and to confront authority confidently.’’ We’ll pursue Steen’s goal by considering explicit examples of applications of mathematics and statistics to issues of social justice, such as racial profiling, environmental justice, and more. Some may simply involve single class meetings while others build over the course of a term, but all invite students to raise questions of their own. We’ll share concrete examples and resources.
- Healing-Informed Social Justice Mathematics in Higher Education (Dr. Kari Kokka)
- Social Justice Mathematics aims to develop students’ academic proficiency and students’ sociopolitical consciousness, or conscientização (Freire, 1970), to critically analyze and change the world (Gutiérrez, 2002; Gutstein, 2006). Using an ecological approach to trauma-informed care (Harvey, 1996) and radical healing (Ginwright, 2016) this case study (Kokka, 2018) considers how one mathematics teacher’s approach to Social Justice Mathematics also offered students opportunities to engage in healing practices. Findings indicate that students identified their emotions, engaged in structural analyses of local social issues, and expressed plans to take action. This study suggests the possibility of using a Healing-Informed Social Justice Mathematics approach to support development of students’ sociopolitical consciousness and well-being in mathematics class. In this talk, we will consider how to support university students’ well-being, mathematics learning, and sociopolitical consciousness development through humanizing mathematics experiences.
- Closer to Fair: Mathematics & Social Justice (Dr. David Kung)
- The world is an unfair, unjust place - so let's fix it! This interactive workshop will focus on two specific ways we can work to address issues of social justice both in our classrooms and in our world. The first half will focus on the college setting and the inequalities that pervade mathematics and science classrooms. Why do underrepresented students fail college math courses disproportionately, despite good preparation and strong motivation? What can we do about it? In the second half, we’ll tackle ways to help students view the world through a more mathematical lens, from racially-skewed traffic stops to the mathematics of credit cards. A growing group of mathematicians teach “Math for Social Justice” courses that ask students to use the tools of mathematics to study, understand, and even address issues ranging from economic inequity to environmental impacts.
11:15am-12:00pm: Group activity (led by Dr. David Kung)
12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm-2:30pm: Plenary 2 - Developing curriculum materials and modules
- Part 1: Creating examples of mathematics for social justice for the classroom (Dr. Kari Kokka)
- Many dilemmas arise when using Social Justice Mathematics (Bartell, 2013; Gregson, 2013; Kokka, 2015), such as how we define “student success,” development of tasks and lessons for SJM, and sociopolitical consciousness required to develop such tasks. This talk considers goals of SJM and their associated dilemmas as well as strategies for negotiating these potential pitfalls. We will discuss how collaboration amongst educators of diverse contexts may help attend to these dilemmas and consider actions participants can take to support their use of SJM in their own unique contexts.
- Part 2: Developing Social Justice Modules for Teaching (Dr. Nathan Alexander)
- This session will help faculty design, prepare, and submit curricular materials for their required social justice modules.
- Strand 1: Early College Mathematics (College algebra, pre-calculus, foundational and special topics courses)
- Strand 2: The Calculus Sequence (Calculus I, II, and III, advanced and special topics courses)
- Strand 3: Statistics and Data Science (Basic/advanced statistics, data science, and special topics courses)
5:30pm: Day 1 Closing
7:30pm-9:00pm: Optional group social activity (Meet in hotel lobby at 7:15pm)
Sunday June 9, DAY 3 (Morehouse College)
9:00am-10:00am: Breakfast and Plenary 3: Teaching Social Justice Mathematics Panel
- Panelist: Dr. Kathy Hoke, Dr. Carl Yerger, Dr. Lily Khadjavi; Moderator: Dr. Viveka Brown
12:00pm-1:30pm: Lunch and course strand presentations
1:30pm-2:00pm: Day 2 Closing
2:00pm: Departures