A new study finds that high school students identify more with math if they see their math teacher treating everyone in the class equitably, especially in racially diverse schools. The study by researchers at Portland State University, Loyola University Chicago and the University of North Texas was published in the journal Sociology of Education. Dara Shifrer, associate professor of sociology at Portland State and former middle school math teacher, led the study.
Who can do well in math? How you answer that question may depend on where you live. Whereas people in East Asian countries tend to believe that hard work can lead anyone to succeed at math, people in the United States are more likely to believe that people need natural talent in the subject to succeed. This perception means that students in the U.S. may be particularly susceptible to racial and gender stereotypes about who is and is not “good at math.”
“Americans don’t realize what strange stereotypes we have about math,” says Shifrer. “It really sets kids up for failure here.”
The fact that some high school students are more likely to give up on math than others has important implications for their individual futures and for the lack of diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers.
Much more on the successful citizen lawsuit overturning the Seattle School District’s use of Discovery Math, here.
http://seattlemathgroup.blogspot.com/.
Discovery Math
Connected math.
Singapore Math
Local links: Math Task Force, Math Forum Audio/Video and West High School Math Teachers letter to Isthmus.