Adding the Humanities into Math Curriculum Development: A UX Study on Writing Mathematical Arguments

Abstract

In this paper, we report on a longitudinal benchmark study of student ability to write mathematical arguments in an advanced mathematics course redesigned with input from a team of researchers in the arts and humanities. To track student progress and experience, researchers from mathematics, humanities, and UX/technical communication departments distributed and collected assessments given at the beginning and end of nine sections over one academic year. Each semester, approximately half the courses were taught using the new curriculum and the other half used the original one. Assessment one demonstrated that the new curriculum does significantly increase students’ improvement between beginning and end assessments, whereas the original curriculum did not. Assessment two demonstrated that students felt the new curriculum integrated the course material and assignments more than the existing curriculum and also reported a more enjoyable experience. Assessment three demonstrated that instructors generally feel that the new curriculum aids students’ participatory education and allows them to confront difficult concepts in a more agile environment and cooperative atmosphere. Therefore, we argue for more collaboration inside a STEAM-environment for the mutual benefit of implementing curricular development inspired by Arts and Humanities pedagogy.