Exploring a Framework to Guide Cultural and Cognitive Demand Integration in Culturally Relevant Mathematics Tasks

• In Event: Supporting Teaching for Conceptual Understanding

Abstract

Preservice teachers (PSTs) need structured learning opportunities to explore culturally relevant teaching in mathematics pedagogy and content. Mathematics methods courses can support PSTs in designing culturally relevant mathematics tasks that integrate authentic cultural connections and high cognitive demand reflecting students’ cultural assets and mathematical identities (Matthews et al., 2022). PSTs can also leverage multicultural texts as entry points to enhance such instruction (Leonard et al., 2014). This study presents a framework to examine the integration of culture and cognitive demand in the design of PSTs’ culturally relevant mathematics tasks for the purpose of critiquing and enhancing task design. Findings detail various PSTs’ tasks examined by the framework. Recommendations are shared for how others can use this framework in mathematics education.

Authors

• Alesia Mickle Moldavan, Georgia Southern University

• Dittika Gupta, Midwestern State University