Meaningful Real World Mathematics: Creating Well-Contextualized Activities for College Algebra
Location
SU-216
Department
Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies
Abstract
In K-12 classrooms, there has been a push for the use of real world examples in mathematics. Well-contextualized real world applications have the potential to increase the relevancy of mathematics, to motivate mathematical concepts, and to invite new mathematical questions. However, real world problems used in mathematics curricula can often be contrived, lack mathematical sophistication, or require specialist background knowledge. Over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year, I have worked with Prof. Matthew Graham to create learning modules for the College Algebra course at NEIU that are rooted in meaningful applications of mathematics in real life. In this presentation, I will detail both the challenges that arose in the course of writing these lessons and the successes that we encountered. Drawing from this experience, I will also reflect on considerations on if and how this work could be extended.
Faculty Sponsor
Matthew Graham
Meaningful Real World Mathematics: Creating Well-Contextualized Activities for College Algebra
SU-216
In K-12 classrooms, there has been a push for the use of real world examples in mathematics. Well-contextualized real world applications have the potential to increase the relevancy of mathematics, to motivate mathematical concepts, and to invite new mathematical questions. However, real world problems used in mathematics curricula can often be contrived, lack mathematical sophistication, or require specialist background knowledge. Over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year, I have worked with Prof. Matthew Graham to create learning modules for the College Algebra course at NEIU that are rooted in meaningful applications of mathematics in real life. In this presentation, I will detail both the challenges that arose in the course of writing these lessons and the successes that we encountered. Drawing from this experience, I will also reflect on considerations on if and how this work could be extended.