Integrating SEL into the mathematics classroom

through the lens of students' mathematical identity

David S. Williams, Ed.D. Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Metro Nashville Public Schools

Goals

• Consider the ways in which students’ mathematical identities are shaped through their experiences.

• Mobilize our spheres of influence to systematize our approach to SEL integration in the mathematics classroom.

Who’s who

• Teacher • School Administrator • District Leader • Counselor • Social Workers • School Psychologist • Community Partner • Others?

Who are you?

• Take 1 minute: Make a list of things that describe who you are. (e.g., parent, mom, teacher, taxi driver, bread winner) Be prepared to share with a partner.

Who are you?

Now, let’s dig a bit deeper:

• Go to another level to describe who you are:

•  (e.g., confident, self-assured, spiritual, happy, humble, work-aholic)

• You are NOT sharing these with a partner...

Who are you?

• While you are not sharing these “deeper” parts of your identity with a partner, do share the things that influence(d) those aspects of you.

• Be prepared to share out with the group.

Share Out

• What are some things that shaped your “identity” as a person?

Let’s do some Math!

• Take 2 minutes to answer the problem on your own. Try to come up with as many answers as you can - no phones/calculator. Be prepared to share you thinking with your neighbors.

Let’s do some Math!

Name a fraction between 1⁄4  and 1⁄3 .

Share Out

• What were your solution methods?

• Did you come to a new understanding that you didn’t have before?

Debrief

• What supported your learning?

• How did you “feel” during that activity? What caused that? Why?

• What messages were sent or reinforced? Attend to both implicit and explicit messages.

Identity Defined

•  “The ways that people come to conceptualize themselves and others and how they act as a result of those understandings.”

(Cornell and Hartmann, 98, p. xvii)

Mathematical Identity

•  “The dispositions and deeply held beliefs that students develop about their ability to participate and perform effectively in mathematical contexts and to use mathematics in powerful ways across the contexts of their lives.”

(Aguirre et al., 2013, p. 14)

Self-awareness

•  The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”

•  Identifying emotions •  Accurate self-perception •  Recognizing strengths •  Self-confidence •  Self-efficacy

CASEL, 2017

Social Awareness

• The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

•  Perspective-taking •  Empathy •  Appreciating diversity •  Respect for others

CASEL,2017

Pause • What resonates with you?

• What has shaped your mathematical identity?

• What are the implications for your work?

Let’s go a bit further

• Mathematical identity unpacked as: o Mathematical agency o Mathematical proficiency

Mathematical Agency

•  “Students’ capacity to ‘identify themselves as powerful mathematical thinkers who construct rigorous mathematical understandings, and who participate in mathematics in personally and socially meaningful ways’.”

(Turner, 2003)

Mathematical Proficiency

• Conceptual Understanding • Procedural Fluency • Strategic Competence • Adaptive Reasoning • Productive Disposition

•  (Adding It Up, NRC, 2001a)

Making Sense of Identities

• What are some other “identities” that students are experiencing?

The Mathematics Teacher

• What role does the teacher play in shaping students’ mathematical identities?

• How might the teacher organize the classroom and learning experiences in a way that affirms students’ identities and develops positive mathematical identities? (think about implicit and explicit messages)

The Mathematics Teacher

• What role do “labels” have on students’ identities? On teachers’ perceptions of these identities?

• How might we reframe these to more positively shape students’ identities?

Turning to your Sphere

• What role do you play in leading mathematics instruction in your school or district?

• What are some ways you can influence teachers to tend to students’ mathematical identities?

Questions and Discussion

David S. Williams, Ed.D. Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Metro Nashville Public Schools

david.williams2@mnps.org