{"title":"Benny, Barbara, and the Ethics of EdTech","authors":"Geillan Aly","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.hanb5943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.hanb5943","url":null,"abstract":"Erlwanger [18] shook the mathematics education world when he introduced Benny, a student who successfully worked through a behavioristic curriculum. Erlwanger showed how far removed Benny’s understanding of mathematics was from expectations. Erlwanger’s legacy is the basis for this comparative case study which explores students’ actions in the modern, in-class computer-centered emporium classroom. Many striking similarities are found between Pearson’s MyMathLabs (MML) and Benny’s Individually Prescribed Instruction curriculum. In this case study we meet Barbara, a student who succeeds in MML but shows little understanding of mathematical concepts and demonstrates that the legacy of Benny is his continued appearance in our current students. However, what differentiates Benny and Barbara is more than time; it’s the inequities resulting from imposing a pedagogy with well-known problematic characteristics to developmental mathematics students. Most of these developmental students are members of marginalized communities. As such, the social justice and ethical implications of using such a course structure are explored.","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48189867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Creative Writing that Combines Mathematics and Literature","authors":"Hsueh-Chen Lee","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.vnbn1437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.vnbn1437","url":null,"abstract":"Synopsis In early 2015, the Mathematics-Literature Creativity Award was offered through competition for technological and vocational college students in Taiwan. This paper focuses on the two winning works, the poem Parabola and the flash-fiction, Love Letters of a Science Student , by analyzing the mathematical notions involved and their uses to enhance literary expression. The introduction surveys briefly the various ways of combining mathematics and literature in a piece of creative writing that enriches and supports communication in both disciplines.","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49246010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What in the World Just Happened? Students’ Self-Regulation in Asynchronous PreCalculus During the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Whitney George, Keith Gallagher","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.kqum2943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.kqum2943","url":null,"abstract":"We describe students' learning practices in an online asynchronous PreCalculus course during Fall 2020, the first complete semester of distance learning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were compiled using a thematic analysis of a questionnaire administered to 43 students enrolled in PreCalculus at a university in the Midwest (United States). Students were given opportunities for active learning and various synchronous Q&A sessions, yet they primarily learned through watching videos and reading worked examples, minimizing interactions with the instructor and available tutors. The questionnaire results show that students knew active learning was helpful, but they were unable to curtail unproductive learning practices. The questionnaire also showed that students struggled to stay motivated and keep to a schedule. We conclude that by developing their study techniques and self-regulatory habits, students will be able to take more control over their learning, particularly in asynchronous classes.","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46101492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stewardship of Mathematics: Essential Training for Contributors to, and Users of, the Practice of Mathematics","authors":"R. Tractenberg","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.pmat5804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.pmat5804","url":null,"abstract":"A steward of the discipline was originally defined as an individual to whom “we can entrust the vigor, quality, and integrity of the field”, and more specifically, as “someone who will creatively generate new knowledge, critically conserve valuable and useful ideas, and responsibly transform those understandings through writing, teaching, and application” [8]. Originally articulated for doctoral education, in 2019 the construct of stewardship was expanded so that it can also be applied to non-academic practitioners in any field, and can be initiated earlier than doctoral education [18]. In this paper we apply this construct to the context of mathematics and argue that even for those early in their training in mathematics, stewardly practice of mathematics can be introduced and practiced. Postsecondary and tertiary education in mathematics — for future mathematicians as well as those who will use math at work — can include curriculum-spanning training, and documented achievement in stewardship. Even before a formal ethical practice standard for mathematics is developed and deployed to help inculcate math students with a “tacit responsibility for the quality and integrity of their own work”, higher education can begin to shape student attitudes towards stewardly professional identities. Learning objectives to accomplish this are described, to assist math instructors in facilitating the recognition and acceptance of responsibility for the quality and integrity of their own work and that of colleagues in the practice of mathematics.","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45499211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social Justice and Exponential Functions: Using Pandemic Data to Increase Student Understanding","authors":"Jane Friedman","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.gmfo7474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.gmfo7474","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes a class activity based on real data about COVID-19 death rates in California. The activity helps students learn about exponential func-tions while providing an opportunity to integrate social justice concerns into the mathematics classroom.","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48729322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mining the Soma Cube for Gems: Isomorphic Subgraphs Reveal Equivalence Classes","authors":"E. Vogel, My Tram","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.zbjj9221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.zbjj9221","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45954523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Academic Hats and Ice Cream: Two Optimization Problems","authors":"V. Ochkov, Yu. V. Chudova","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.dkub1591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.dkub1591","url":null,"abstract":"This article describes the use of computer software to optimize the design of an academic hat and an ice cream cone!","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47686461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Special Issue -- Ethics in Mathematics: Foreword","authors":"Catherine Buell, Victor I. Piercey","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.kxcu6801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.kxcu6801","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46629949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mathematical Constants Beyond the Half-Circle: An Open Call for Poetry","authors":"M. Huber, Gizem Karaali","doi":"10.5642/jhummath.baen8114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.baen8114","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42411,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Humanistic Mathematics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47646380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}