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1. A Quantitative Analysis of Six Aspects of Student Identity and Creativity-Fostering Instruction

   Regier, P. ( January 2021 , Proceedings of the ICME-14 Topic Study Group 18 Students’ identity, motivation, and attitude towards mathematics and its study)

   Vollstedt, M. (Ed.)

   Can fostering mathematical creativity explicitly in a calculus I course impact students’ mathematical identity? As a part of a larger research project exploring this question, a quantitative research study was developed to explore six aspects of student mathematical identity along with student perception of creativity-fostering instructor behavior. Analysis of pre- and post-semester survey data indicated that the instruments measuring aspects of student identity had strong reliability and good structure validity. Correlational analysis of the six aspects of student identity provided evidence that students’ views of mathematics as a creative endeavor impacted the formation of self-efficacy in mathematics. The instrument measuring creativity-fostering instruction demonstrated low reliability and internal inconsistencies. Methodological issues related to measuring creativity-fostering instruction and directions for future research studying creativity-fostering and student identity are discussed. 

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2. Contextualization of Soft Skills in a Biotechnology Course with Project-Based Learning

   https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8110712  

   Arora, Chander P. ; Mohammadian, Parvaneh ( January 2023 , Journal of advanced technological education)

   A shortage in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has made it clear that STEM educators should adjust their teaching pedagogy to engage and retain students by improving student interest in STEM fields. Furthermore, in addition to discipline-based knowledge, students must learn the soft skills employers value to increase employability. Project-based learning (PBL), a student-centered teaching method in science labs, is a strategy that encourages students to create their projects while applying soft skills. This article demonstrates that integrating and implementing PBL in a biotechnology lab enhances knowledge and increases student retention and employment rates. 

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3. Undergraduates' perceptions of the benets of working tasks focused on analyzing student thinking as an application for teaching in abstract algebra

   Álvarez, James A. ; Kercher, Andrew ; Turner, Kyle ( January 2020 , Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Karunakaran, S.S. ; Reed, Z. ; Higgins, A. (Ed.)

   The Mathematical Education of Teachers as an Application of Undergraduate Mathematics project provides lessons integrated into various mathematics major courses that incorporate mathematics teaching connections as a legitimate application area of undergraduate mathematics. One feature of the lessons involves posing tasks that require undergraduates to interpret or analyze the work of another student. This paper reports on thematic analysis of hour-long interviews for eight participants enrolled in an undergraduate abstract algebra course from two different implementation sites. We focus on student work and reactions to these interpreting or analyzing student thinking (AST) applications as they relate to their perceptions regarding the use of AST applications as a mechanism to both deepen their content knowledge and improve their skills for communicating mathematics. Several participants identify positive benefits, but more research is needed to determine the how to incorporate AST applications to accommodate some participants’ reluctance to engage in new mathematical contexts. 

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4. Undergraduate Gender Differences in Knowledge of the GRE and Perception of the GRE as a Barrier to Applying to Graduate Mathematics Programs

   McEldowney, T. ; Townsend, E. ; Maldonado, D. ; Michaluk, L. ; Deshler, J. ( February 2024 , Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are commonly required in applications to graduate school in mathematics. We examine undergraduate mathematics majors’ knowledge of the GRE and their perceptions of the GRE as a barrier to applying to these programs as part of a larger project studying student knowledge of the graduate school application process and how it contributes to lack of diversity in graduate mathematics programs. We found that there was an association by gender, and that women were less likely to report that they had heard of the GRE General and Subject Tests. Similarly, women were more likely to report that the GRE tests were a potential barrier to their decision to apply to graduate mathematics programs. 

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5. Returning to disrupting deficit narratives: Funds of knowledge beyond curriculum

   Adiredja, Aditya ; Civil, Marta ( October 2023 , University of Nevada, Reno)

   Lamberg, T ; Moss, D (Ed.)

   We examine the potential for instructor-led student interview in disrupting narratives about minoritized university students and their families. This approach was inspired by a critical component of the original Funds of Knowledge for Teaching project (FoK), the home visit, which involved ethnographic interviews with students and their family to learn about their lives. Study group reflections with project teachers and researchers led to the teachers’ examination of biases and disruption of deficit stories about students and their families (Tenery, 2005). Two frameworks guided the design and the analysis of the study. The anti-deficit framework for students from minoritized groups (Adiredja, 2019) prioritizes unpacking students’ existing understandings and resources for learning, and explicitly constructing counter-stories about students and their mathematics. The study also interprets the results of the study from a socioecological perspective (Louie & Zhan, 2022). Story construction is attributed to the individual, the learning community they are in, and the broader societal context. The data comes from a larger project focusing on engaging university instructors in community learning project focusing on race, gender, and mathematics (NSF DUE 2021313 IUSE). The project began in the summer and the interview occurred in the following Spring. Six participants interviewed a student of their choice, and four attended a follow-up debrief meeting. Results showed that participants gained novel insights into their students’ lives. The focal case, Zaynah shows that the interview can also change an instructor’s deficit story about a student and their mathematics into an anti-deficit story. Zaynah’s post-interview description of her student, Maria, went from someone who had “weak algebra skills” and was “just kind ofthere,” to a student who had a well-researched and articulated academic and life goals, and a “passion” that Zaynah “knew nothing about.” Zaynah accepted that math “wasn’t [Maria’s] thing,” and that “she can and will do the math” to achieve those goals. The anti-deficit framework and the socio-ecological perspective rejected a simple narrative of a deficit-oriented instructor who changed after the interview experience. Zaynah is not a deficit-oriented instructor. Her description of her other students in the workshop—all women of color— were positive, with no mention of deficits. Instead, it is a more complex story of the interplay of narratives about mathematics and students of color, and the impact of the interview with a student and the role of the community in shifting deficit stories. It is showing promise of applying FoK project’s core principles in undergraduate mathematics beyond curriculum design. 

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