"Every day I'm happy to go to class and experience math": opportunities for equity within instruction that supports mathematical learning and social-emotional learning
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The problem driving this dissertation is a lack of knowledge of instruction that supports both mathematical learning (ML) and social-emotional learning (SEL). Without this knowledge, rich opportunities for providing equitable mathematics instruction are going unnoticed, which limits access, identity development, and power-sharing in mathematics classrooms. Guided by research questions targeting instruction, teacher characterizations of instruction, and student perceptions of instruction, this qualitative embedded case study directly addresses this problem by advancing a framework that connects supports for ML and SEL with opportunities for equitable instruction and culturally sustaining mathematics pedagogy (CSMP). ☐ Observations in three ninth-grade mathematics classes in a mid-Atlantic high school, interviews with two teachers, and interviews with four focal students from each class revealed: 1) instruction that supports ML and SEL created opportunities for equitable instruction by increasing access, supporting positive learner identity development, and redistributing power; 2) teachers framed their characterizations of such instruction via descriptions of relational interactions, prior-lived experiences, and/or tension between instruction and assessment; 3) students, individually and/or as a class, can be at different stages of noticing, taking up, and generating opportunities for equitable instruction. These findings contribute to the growing knowledge of and need to further investigate CSMP. Limitations include a small sample size and the virtual nature of data collection due to COVID19, but such limitations are easily addressed with continued research.
Description
Keywords
Culturally sustaining pedagogy, Mathematics education, Pedagogy, Social-emotional learning, Student perceptions, Student voice