"Here It Was in Action": Artifacts for Mathematics Learning and Socialization

• In Event: 49.033 - Investigating the Role of Psychological Constructs in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

Abstract

In this paper, I propose to explore the ways in which mathematics socialization and identity development as experienced through artifacts, spaces, and histories contribute to mathematics learning. Using narrative inquiry methods, I draw on interviews with 35 Black mathematicians about their mathematics experiences to explore and answer questions about the roles of artifacts (both in the traditional sense as mathematical tools as well as objects embodied with rich personal meanings); histories (cultural, social, and familial); and mathematical spaces (places in and out of school with rich mathematical meanings) in the learning of mathematics, mathematics identity development, and mathematics socialization. I present selected narratives to discuss these themes with implications for mathematics teaching and learning in the 21st century.

Author

• Erica Walker, Teachers College, Columbia University