Posing Math Problems About Our Community: Investigating the WalkSTEM Club

• In Event: 2021 Education Research Service Project Invited Poster Session

Abstract

WalkSTEM is an initiative in Dallas, Texas, that was launched and is run by the non-profit organization TalkSTEM. In walkSTEM after-school clubs, students meet weekly to create their own mathematical "stops" for a walk around their school or community. Students then lead an audience (other students, parents, teachers) on their walk, acting as docents who explain how mathematics is integrated into the surroundings. The non-profit behind walkSTEM is keenly interested in research and evaluation activities related to the outreach they are doing in the community – particularly the afterschool club. They are interested in knowing whether the club is effective in its goals to promote students’ interest in mathematics and mathematical learning, as well as to connect families and communities around the pursuit of mathematical literacy. For this project, we propose to film a walkSTEM after-school club’s activities, and utilize interviews and surveys with participants to explore students’ problem posing activities. Through this research, we seek to inform the non-profit’s future implementation of both the walkSTEM afterschool club and the walkSTEM model more generally, including identifying important supports for success, key characteristics of the model, and persistent issues that must be considered and addressed. We also seek to document the impact of the model and the kind of work students do as they engage with the club. Finally, we seek to make an academic contribution to research on problem-posing and urban education.

Authors

• Candace A. Walkington, Southern Methodist University

• Min Wang, Southern Methodist University

• Koshi Dhingra, talkSTEM