The following are three topics I am interested in possibly pursuing for my Inquiry Project:
Doing a degree in English Literature and Mathematics, I was always grateful for the different types of thinking I got to do everyday. While many people think that the sciences of the arts are unrelated, I found that the thinking I did for my math courses informed the way I approached my literature courses, and my literature courses helped me see the poetry and art that is inherent in mathematics. I want to investigate how an interdisciplinary approach to teaching mathematics could enhance the classroom experience, and engage students who might otherwise think that math isn't for them, or that they can't excel in it.
Math is one of the subjects that causes a subset of students the most anxiety. Why does this happen? How can math assessments be adapted to be a lower stress situation. What kind of environment in a classroom can help combat math anxiety?
Thoughts after Discussion
After discussion with my partners, I have some interesting ideas for approaching each of these three topics. We discussed the influence on gendered toys on the development of young kids and how that could affect the differences in confidence between girls and boys in math. We also talked about how important it is that women are equally involved in the stem industries that are shaping the modern world - otherwise the issue will continue to propagate itself.
We discussed how connecting math to things students are passionate about could help get them excited about math, and overcome any anxiety they have about it and any preconceptions they might have that math is not for them, or not something they will every need.
We also talked about different forms of testing that could help with math anxiety. For example, I had a high school teacher that let us take some tests in pairs so that when you ran into a question that you didn't know how to approach, you had someone to bounce ideas off of.
1. How and why girls are discouraged from pursuing math (and other STEM fields)
Through my undergrad, in my math classes, and particularly in my computer science classes, women were significantly underrepresented. This is true across the board in STEM fields - in academia and in the workforce - and many STEM spaces are hostile towards women (as has been demonstrated by recent news stories such as Google Memo, and the woman who spoke out about her treatment at Uber). I want to investigate how early this pattern starts, what educational and societal factors are causing it, and how I, as a teacher, can best support encourage young girls who want to pursue STEM.
2. How the Arts and Sciences are connected - and how interdisciplinary approaches can enhance the classroom
3. Math Anxiety and Test Anxiety
Thoughts after Discussion
After discussion with my partners, I have some interesting ideas for approaching each of these three topics. We discussed the influence on gendered toys on the development of young kids and how that could affect the differences in confidence between girls and boys in math. We also talked about how important it is that women are equally involved in the stem industries that are shaping the modern world - otherwise the issue will continue to propagate itself.
We discussed how connecting math to things students are passionate about could help get them excited about math, and overcome any anxiety they have about it and any preconceptions they might have that math is not for them, or not something they will every need.
We also talked about different forms of testing that could help with math anxiety. For example, I had a high school teacher that let us take some tests in pairs so that when you ran into a question that you didn't know how to approach, you had someone to bounce ideas off of.
Comments
Post a Comment