Structuring Equitable Participation in Undergraduate Mathematics Proof Classes

构建本科数学证明课程的公平参与

• 批准号: 2235649
• 负责人: Kathleen Melhuish
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Texas State University - San Marcos
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235649&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Structuring; Equitable; Participation; Undergraduate; Mathematics

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving students’ experiences in proof-based mathematics classes. These courses are taken by future high school mathematics teachers and mathematics majors. The unique content and features of proof-based courses have the potential to strengthen conceptual connections for mathematics majors, including connections to K-12 mathematics for prospective secondary teachers. However, these benefits do not always fall equitably to students, and proof-based courses can sometimes serve as a barrier to students’ future STEM careers. This Level II IUSE:EDU Engaged Student Learning track project will facilitate professional development and collaboration with instructors of these courses to design and implement group-work tasks that may support more equitable learning experiences. The innovation of this professional development will lie in adapting and implementing group-work principles from complex instruction, developed at K-12 levels, to the advanced undergraduate level. The project will also investigate how implementing such group work can alleviate inequities in group-work participation. Thus, the significance of this work will include the development of knowledge and concrete instructional strategies that may support transformation of advanced mathematics classes into more inclusive spaces.This project builds on a substantial foundation of research illustrating that complex instruction principles and the incorporation of group-worthy tasks can lead to more equitable participation in mathematics classrooms. Using this research foundation as a catalyst, the project will pursue several goals. The first goal is to design, implement, and study workshops to support instructors of proof-based courses in implementing group-worthy tasks in their courses. A second goal is to build understanding of how design features of group work impact student interactions and can lead to more equitable participation in mathematics classrooms. An additional goal is to disseminate project outcomes and group-work resources at local, regional, and national levels to mathematical sciences departments and other STEM departments working to enhance student learning, success, and equitable classroom participation. Status hierarchies that exist in social settings often shape student collaborative work. That is, the decision to speak up, ask a question, or offer an idea is not necessarily a direct consequence of what the student knows, but often is an interplay with how they perceive their status in the class as well as how they think their instructor and their peers perceive them. The project will focus on tasks that intentionally make use of students’ diverse strengths. By properly developing and implementing these tasks, instructors can help override negative status effects and cultivate positive interdependence among students. While these principles have been well established at K-12 levels, little is known about their potential at the advanced undergraduate level. Through project research and evaluation, the project aims to generate new knowledge to enhance literature and classroom practice related to proof-based courses and equitable group work. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected from the workshops and subsequent classes, and mixed methods analyses will be conducted to result in a better understanding of how to develop and implement equitable group-worthy tasks and of the overall relationships between tasks, instruction, and group work. In turn, the outcomes will enable the investigators to build theories on how such group work plays out in the advanced mathematics context. By contributing tasks and models for more equitable group work in proof-based classes, the project will serve as a resource for curriculum developers, instructors, and professional communities of practice. Dissemination will be through local, regional, and national outlets and will include workshops, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed publications. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在通过改善学生在基于证明的数学课程中的体验来服务于国家利益。这些课程是由未来的高中数学教师和数学专业。基于证明的课程的独特内容和功能有可能加强数学专业的概念联系，包括未来中学教师与K-12数学的联系。然而，这些好处并不总是公平地落在学生身上，基于证明的课程有时会成为学生未来STEM职业的障碍。这个二级IUSE：EDU学生学习跟踪项目将促进专业发展和与这些课程的教师合作，设计和实施小组工作任务，可以支持更公平的学习经验。这种专业发展的创新将在于适应和实施从复杂的教学，在K-12水平开发的小组工作原则，以先进的本科水平。该项目还将调查如何实施这样的小组工作可以减轻不公平的小组工作参与。因此，这项工作的意义将包括知识的发展和具体的教学策略，可能会支持高等数学课堂转化为更具包容性的spaces.This项目建立在一个坚实的基础上的研究表明，复杂的教学原则和纳入组值得的任务可以导致更公平地参与数学课堂。利用这一研究基础作为催化剂，该项目将追求几个目标。第一个目标是设计，实施和研究研讨会，以支持教师的证明为基础的课程，在他们的课程中实施组值得的任务。第二个目标是了解小组工作的设计特点如何影响学生的互动，并能导致更公平地参与数学课堂。另一个目标是在地方，区域和国家层面向数学科学部门和其他STEM部门传播项目成果和小组工作资源，以提高学生的学习，成功和公平的课堂参与。存在于社会环境中的地位等级往往塑造学生的协作工作。也就是说，决定大声说话，问一个问题，或提供一个想法不一定是学生所知道的直接后果，但往往是一个相互作用，他们如何看待自己在课堂上的地位，以及他们如何认为他们的导师和他们的同龄人认为他们。该项目将侧重于有意利用学生的各种优势的任务。通过适当地开发和实施这些任务，教师可以帮助克服消极的地位效应，培养学生之间的积极相互依赖。虽然这些原则已经在K-12水平上得到了很好的确立，但人们对它们在高级本科水平上的潜力知之甚少。通过项目研究和评估，该项目旨在产生新的知识，以加强与基于证据的课程和公平的小组工作有关的文献和课堂实践。定性和定量数据将从研讨会和随后的类收集，混合方法分析将进行，以更好地了解如何开发和实施公平的组值得的任务和任务，指令和小组工作之间的整体关系。反过来，这些结果将使研究人员能够建立关于这种小组工作如何在高等数学背景下发挥作用的理论。通过在基于证明的课程中为更公平的小组工作提供任务和模型，该项目将成为课程开发人员，教师和专业实践社区的资源。传播将通过地方、区域和国家渠道进行，并将包括讲习班、会议介绍和同行评审出版物。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。