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1. Tasks to Foster Mathematical Creativity in Calculus I

   El Turkey, H.; Karakok, G.; Tang, G.; Regier, P.; Savić, M.; Cilli-Turner, E. (January 2020, Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   null; Z. Reed, A. Higgins (Ed.)

   Fostering students’ mathematical creativity necessitates certain instructional actions - one of which is designing and implementing tasks that foster creativity. Drawing on the literature on mathematical creativity, we describe existing research-based features of tasks for eliciting student creativity, or creativity-based tasks, and provide suggestions for implementation of such tasks. Based on these features, we analyzed two instructors’ first experiences designing and implementing creativity-based tasks in Calculus I. Both instructors’ frequent use of the multiple- solutions feature suggests that this feature could be an entry-point for designing and implementing creativity-based tasks for other instructors seeking to foster creativity. 

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2. WORKING TOWARD A MATHEMATICS LITERACY THAT ENGAGES CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION AND A MATHEMATICAL IDENTITY

   Shaw, A; Lawler, B; Crombie, W; McKlin, T; Brown, T; Richards, T (July 2024, The 15th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-15))

   This paper aims to introduce a new paradigm for mathematics literacy. By integrating computational thinking and coding into curricular units from The Algebra Project, we engaged middle school students in creativity, imagination, and self-expression in the mathematics classroom. We refined instruments to measure the development of student voice, agency, and belongingness. In the context of the mathematics classroom, there is potential for an earned insurgency to arise when these attributes of mathematical identity are amplified, leading students to engage in a learning community that rejects the repressive logic of the current racialized, classed, and otherwise oppressive mathematics education 

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3. Black adolescents’ motivation to resist the false dichotomy between mathematics achievement and racial identity

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-024-00219-9  

   Wilson, Melody; Matthews, Jamaal Sharif (December 2024, npj Science of Learning)

   Abstract This study investigates the racial-mathematical identity profiles of Black American adolescents. Survey data were collected in five schools across one U.S. urban school district at two time points (spring 2018 [n = 197] and spring 2019 [n = 210]). Based on extant research regarding psychological response patterns to racialized school stress, we investigated the existence of an identity negotiation pattern in which students were motivated to resist negative stereotypes about Black people by achieving well in mathematics. We conducted a latent profile analysis combining students’ self-beliefs across five indicators: racial centrality, racial public regard, mathematics attainment value, mathematics mastery experiences, and resistance motivation. Three distinct racial-mathematical identity profiles emerged: (1) Mathematics Devalued/Ambivalent, (2) Moderately Math Attained, and (3) Resistors. We found associations between profile membership and students’ gender, negative math emotions, and their receipt of cultural and critical mathematics instruction. We also found an association between the identity profiles and school type (academically selective “magnet” schools vs. open-enrollment neighborhood schools), but not in the direction that might be assumed. Moreover, we found that certain school environment factors (i.e., racial stereotyping and cultural and critical mathematics instruction) were significantly different in racially diverse magnet schools than in the neighborhood schools. Overall, our data reveal the existence of a highly motivated Resistor profile among Black students, that is predicted by cultural and critical mathematics instruction but underrepresented within this district’s selective magnet schools. 

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4. Learning trajectories of teachers’ cultural competencies in teaching mathematics with robots in elementary school

   Coward, Chamarra A_O; Cheung, Marcus_Yuen-Yiu; Lyublinskaya, Irina (April 2025, AERA)

   This study employed a mixed methods research design to explore the influence of a year-long professional development (PD) on the 1st grade team of elementary school teachers' cultural competencies as they integrated culturally relevant robot coding activities into mathematics instruction. Culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy (CRMP) promotes academic success by fostering conceptual understanding, leveraging students' cultural knowledge, building social connections, and engaging mathematics from a social justice lens through the core elements of demand, relevance, and agency. The results indicate that the PD sessions improved some of teachers' cultural competencies, such as competency in modeling high expectations and in drawing on student culture. In addition, teachers consistently demonstrated strong cultural competencies in establishing supportive classroom norms, promoting inclusive environments, and recognizing student differences. The observed CRMP scores reflect teachers’ growth trends in the demand dimension of implemented mathematics tasks. However, they struggled implementing mathematics tasks that reflect authentic relevance and agency, even though all three core dimensions of CRMP were evident in the designed tasks. Teachers' self-reports indicated a shift toward more student-centered instruction, which is consistent with increased tasks’ demand. 

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5. Entrepreneurial Mindset & Innovative Thinking Skills

   Konak, Abdullah; Kulturel-Konak, Sadan; Liu, Haibin (April 2023, 2023 ASEE Zone 1 Conference)

   The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are constantly evolving and advancing, and an entrepreneurial mindset is essential for success in these fields. The term “entrepreneurial mindset” refers to attitudes and behaviors that promote creativity, problem-solving, and an openness to take risks and explore new ideas. These attitudes and behaviors are important for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in STEM fields. This paper will begin by defining an Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) based on emerging literature on the topic and focus on highlighting the key characteristics and skills associated with this concept. Then, this paper introduces a new scale, called Comprehensive Entrepreneurial Mindset Scale (CEMS), to assess students’ EM development and the preliminary results for its statistical reliability. Through an empirical study utilizing student surveys, this paper also suggests how the CEMS can be used to follow students’ development EM throughout their academic life and how this relates to academic performance and student engagement in school. The paper concludes by discussing the findings' implications and suggests future research directions. 

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