This presentation will unpack how the discipline of mathematics, rightly understood in a Christian context, equips students to do justice, love kindness, and walk in humility with God (Micah 6:8). This presentation will expand on the experience of Regents School of Austin in shaping the philosophy of its mathematics program around several key works: Math for Human Flourishing, Citizen Math, Building Thinking Classrooms, and Beauty for Truth’s Sake. Several practical examples from the Regents curriculum will be shared to demonstrate how the ideal of integrating faith and Christian service into the math classroom becomes a reality that is meaningful for students.
UPDATE (4/1/20): To ensure the health and safety of both attendees and speakers during the coronavirus pandemic the difficult decision has been made to cancel the Cultivating Soulful Mathematicians Conference for this summer. Be on the lookout for a rescheduled conference in the summer of 2021.
It has been a while since I have posted here (and it seems like I start more and more posts with that caveat). In the past year I have been blessed with my dream job of overseeing the K-12 mathematics program at a Christian school. I have spent a lot of time on vertical alignment, evaluating our curriculum and proposing changes, teacher training, and running a social media public relations campaign to increase our parent community’s understanding of what we do in our math program. The work has been good and rewarding, but also time consuming.
Oh, and in my “spare time” I have been working with some amazing colleagues and brothers in Christ to launch a math conference. That is what I would like to share with you today.
Well, my colleagues and I had kicked around a few ideas including “math for human flourishing,” “cultivating mathematical affections” (if you’ve read anything on this site then you can guess who suggested this theme), and “math class as soul craft” (an homage to the book Shop Class as Soul Craft). These themes were close to what we were aiming for but none were perfect fits. Then I began reading the book Where Wisdom may be Found: the Eternal Purpose of Christian Higher Education.I have included this book on the “Resource” page and hope to post a review of it at some point (in my “spare time”).
I began reading this book because one chapter is entitled “The Joy of Mathematics.” While I thoroughly enjoyed that chapter it was actually another chapter that motivated this conference theme: “Becoming a Soulful Wordsmith.” Here is the apt excerpt:
Liberal arts learning has always emphasized the importance of discovering who we truly are, over and above acquiring practical skills that can be applied in a work context. Students who are dedicated to liberal arts learning, from a Christian perspective, will develop an enduring interest in their souls, especially as they are enlivened by the living Word Jesus. To be soulful, biblically speaking, is to be aware of, and participate in, the transforming work of redemption by the Lord who promises to bring life, and bring it “more abundantly” (John 10:10). This is the Christian version of seeking “the good life,” which is the prime directive of secular liberal arts.
This struck a chord with me as it seems to touch on all of the previous themes we had thrown out there but not been satisfied with.
“cultivating mathematical affections” – discovering who we truly are, over and above acquiring practical skills that can be applied in a work context
“math class as soul craft” – developing an enduring interest in their souls
“math for human flourishing” – the Christian version of seeking “the good life,” which is the prime directive of secular liberal arts
What do we hope to achieve at this conference?
From the conference description: Teaching and learning mathematics orients ourselves and our students in a posture of wonder and gratitude, with a desire to worship God and serve one another in community. Mathematics is the language through which we describe the natural world and give expression to our exploration of even the most abstract relationships between shapes and numbers. This is realized as teachers carefully attend to students through instructional practices and deliberate classroom liturgies that draw students into enduring understandings. In our time together, participants will assume the role of students as they exercise their mathematical imagination, experience collaborative problem solving that is both accessible and challenging, and communicate meaningful connections between multiple representations of ideas. Teachers will be led through the process of backward design, development of provocative anchor tasks, and composition of assessments that reflect the chief aim of cultivating mathematical affections.
I hope you’ll consider attending or at least spreading the word to others.
I’ve started a new site for service-learning resources in mathematics: SLmath.com.
This week I am leading a workshop at the 2016 AP Annual Conference on “Statistics, Significance, and Service” in Anaheim, CA. The talk is on integrating service-learning projects into AP Statistics curriculum, specifically with the goal of impacting students on an affective level. In addition to the resources that you will find below, feel free to check out some of the prior posts on service learning:
AP Conference Presentation: Serving the Community through Statistics: workshop with numerous resources for integrating service-learning into AP Statistics, presented at the 2015 AP Annual Conference. I’ll be giving a follow-up workshop at the 2016 AP Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA.
CAMT 2012 Presentation: Presentation I gave at the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching based on the first statistics service-learning project mentioned above.
Geometry and the Homeless: the first service-learning project I did with my geometry students. An updated version from this last school year should find its way onto the site by mid summer.
ABSTRACT:
This session will equip participants to design, implement, and evaluate service-learning based statistics projects in which students partner with non-profit organizations in their local community. These projects synthesize the major concepts of experimental design, data analysis, and statistical inference in the real-world context of community service, ultimately cultivating in students a deeper appreciation for the discipline of statistics. In this session participants will evaluate successful examples of such projects, critically analyze the benefits of the innovative assessment methods involved, and engage in discussion assessing the feasibility and logistics of implementing service projects in their own curriculum.
(This session will expand on the session “Serving the Community through Statistics” from the 2015 AP Annual Conference by including results of my completed dissertation research on cultivating a productive disposition in statistics students through service learning)
PRESENTATION:
You can click the image below to find the PowerPoint that accompanied my presentation.
10 THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE IMPLEMENTING A SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT:
The following are the foundational questions that you as an instructor should consider and reflect upon prior to implementing a service-learning project. This list is not meant to be chronological though some aspects will naturally precede others. Start by considering the course learning objectives and your method of assessing those objectives and then go from there.
1.What are the major learning objectives/big ideas/enduring understandings for your course?
The purpose of the AP course in statistics is to introduce students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing and drawing conclusions from data. Students are exposed to four broad conceptual themes:
Exploring Data: Describing patterns and departures from patterns
Sampling and Experimentation: Planning and conducting a study
Anticipating Patterns: Exploring random phenomena using probability and simulation
Statistical Inference: Estimating population parameters and testing hypotheses
2. What are real-world situations where students can apply the concepts studied in your course?
Identifying a non-profit service agency which requires survey research (program evaluation, client needs assessment, etc.)
Students develop a survey instrument, conduct survey, compile and code data, analyze data, present results
3. List some potential community partners along with some basic descriptors that may impact how your students work with each partner (ex: What is the size of the organization? What issues does the organization address? Is the organization non-profit, governmental, religiously affiliated? Etc.) In lieu of a partner organization you can also consider a general community need for students to address. List some general descriptors of the project involved in addressing this community need.
4. Look for potential matches between organizations on your list from question 3 and your responses to questions 1 and 2. If there are multiple potential matches then consider the pros/cons of each and list them. Be sure to recognize how your matching affects the organization of the project (large scale as a class v. small scale as groups), which in turn may affect your response to question 5 below.
5. Once you have begun narrowing potential community partners that offer opportunities for students to interact with course content, consider how will you assess students? What will be the final product? What expectations will you have for students throughout the project and how will you communicate that to the students?
6. How will students be organized to meet the objectives that they will be assessed on? Will students work as individuals, teams, as a whole class?
7. How will students be equipped to complete the project successfully? What will they have gained from the course up to the point of assigning the project that will aid them? What additional tools/skills/knowledge will students need as the project proceeds?
8. What will be the timeframe for the project? How will students be held accountable to the timeframe? At what points will students receive feedback on their progress?
9. Why should students care about the project? What will you do as an instructor to get student buy-in on the project?
10. How will students reflect throughout the project? What opportunities will you provide for students to pause and consider the work they have done?
HANDOUTS:
From my 2015-16 AP Statistics Project (Organized as an entire class project over the full year):
Reed, G. (2005). “Perspectives on statistics projects in a service-learning framework.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Root, R., Thorme, T., & Gray, C. (2005). “Making meaning, applying statistics.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Sungur, E.A., Anderson, J.E., & Winchester, B.S. (2005). “Integration of service-learning into statistics education.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Hydorn, D.L. (2005). “Community service projects in a first statistics course.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Massey, M. (2005). “Service-learning projects in data interpretation.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Chapter 6: Getting Down to Work
Webster, J. & Vinsonhaler, C. (2005). “Getting down to work – a ‘how-to’ guide for designing and teaching a service-learning course.” In C.R. Hadlock (Ed.), Mathematics in service to the community: Concepts and models for service-learning in the mathematical sciences. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Duke, J.I. (1999). “Service-Learning: taking mathematics into the real world.” The Mathematics Teacher, 92 (9), pp. 794-796, 799.
Leong, J. (2006). High school students’ attitudes and beliefs regarding statistics in a service-learning-based statistics course. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Georgia State University.
For many of the service-learning projects that my students have completed I am indebted to the willing partnership of Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Here is some introductory information on this great ministry:
GOD & MATH: Thinking Christianly About Math Education 