Addressing social and societal issues in mathematics classrooms is a complex and multidimensional task that offers considerable benefits. It may help students understand how mathematics relates to global issues, enhance students' learning experiences, and empower them as learners of mathematics. Our seminar will explore examples of numeracy and argumentation in undergraduate mathematics, focusing on fostering a sense of belonging through inclusive teaching practices.
Hosted by the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy (ISUP), University of Toronto Mississauga. Jointly sponsored by ISUP, SSHRC, and UME Network for Teaching and Research (www.thinkmath.ca).
Date & Time: Friday, January 26, 2024 from 11:00AM-3:30PM
Location: University of Toronto Mississauga (Campus Map & Directions)
Schedule
11:00AM – 11:30AM Coffee and Snacks (William G. Davis Building Room DV3130CC)
11:30AM – 1:00PM Speaker Presentations
1:00PM – 2:00PM Lunch (Maanjiwe nendamowinan Building Room MN6128)
2:00PM – 3:30PM Panel Discussion
Presenters
11:30AM – 12:00PM
The Inequality of Numbers
Wes Maciejewski, Red Deer Polytechnic
Wes Maciejewski received his Ph.D. from Queen's University with a dissertation on discrete mathematics applied to questions in biological evolution. Since then, he has held positions at UBC in the mathematics department and the Carl Weiman Science Education Initiative, was visiting faculty at the University of Auckland, and was an associate professor at San José State University. Wes is currently faculty at Red Deer Polytechnic in his home province of Alberta. He maintains an active research program in mathematics education.
12:00PM – 12:30PM
Persuasion and Argumentation: Why it Matters.
Margaret Karrass, University of Toronto, Mississauga
Margaret Karrass is an Assistant Professor Teaching Stream at the Institute for the Study of the University Pedagogy University of Toronto Mississauga. She teaches courses in Mathematics, Numeracy, and undergraduate research. Her research interests include diagrammatic reasoning, mathematics in history and culture, coding for mathematical understanding, and factors contributing to student retention.
12:30PM – 1:00PM
Making Beautiful Things Together
Peter Taylor, Queen’s University
Peter Taylor is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Queen’s University, cross-appointed to the Department of Biology and the Faculty of Education. His long-term area of research is in evolutionary ecology, but for the past few years, he has spent most of his time developing a curriculum for 7-12 mathematics. His heroes are Whitehead, Dewey, Papert and the many teachers he has been lucky enough to work with.
Panel Discussion (2:00PM – 3:30PM)
Education and Society: Supportive Pedagogy in Mathematics
Panelists
Francis Duah, Toronto Metropolitan University
Francis is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics and Undergraduate Mathematics Education. His research focuses on student transition from school to undergraduate mathematics, resilience in mathematics education, widening participation in the mathematical sciences, and tertiary mathematics pedagogy.
Ami Mamolo, Ontario Tech University
Ami is an Associate Professor in Mathematics Education at Ontario Tech University. Her research is in educational mathematics, focusing on higher and teacher education. Ami’s work explores how to foster and elicit reasoning that can disrupt misguided and ingrained preconceptions about mathematics content, learning, and teaching.
Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen, Ontario Tech University
Robyn is an Assistant Professor in STEAM Education at Ontario Tech University. Her research explores the tensions and possibilities of inclusive pedagogies in K-16 STEAM education for typically underserved, linguistically and culturally diverse, and exceptional populations of learners and their teachers. At the centre of her research are the study of change, innovation, inclusion, and equity.
Timothy J. Yusun, University of Toronto, Mississauga
TJ received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University in the field of operations research and is currently an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) in Mathematics at the University of Toronto Mississauga. He has done work on active learning and writing-focused interventions in discrete mathematics and is coordinating a large first-year calculus course for students in commerce and management.
Panel Discussion Moderator
Xiaoheng (Kitty) Yan, Ph.D.
OISE, University of Toronto