Collective Dreaming as Methodology: How Storytelling Workshops Transform Mathematics Education Through Shared Imagination

• In Event: Dreaming Beyond Numbers: Storytelling as a Methodology and Praxis in Mathematics Education

Abstract

Purpose:
Mathematics education continues to be a site of epistemological, symbolic, and physical harm, particularly for those pushed to the margins (Ernest, 2018; Martin et al., 2019). Despite decades of research calling for equity, systemic transformation remains limited. DREAMERS sought to disrupt these patterns by bringing together educators, researchers, and graduate students to collaboratively reimagine mathematics education.

Theoretical Frameworks:
This study was grounded in a conceptual framework integrating Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), Kelly’s (2022) conceptualization of freedom dreaming, and storytelling traditions such as narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2004), Black storytelling (Toliver, 2021), testimonio (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012), and participatory inquiry (Kurtz, 2014). These frameworks supported our efforts to reflect on historical practices, name current challenges, and imagine liberatory futures in mathematics education. Storytelling was employed as both a method and a methodology—a means to generate knowledge, build community, and spark transformation.

Modes of Inquiry:
We designed and facilitated a series of Dreamathons—storytelling workshops—to support ERGS in sharing their experiences and imagining new possibilities for mathematics education. These sessions served as spaces to explore tensions in the field and generate visions for more equitable futures. We sought to understand what structures and orientations support collective dreaming in mathematics education and how these might inform systems change.

Data Sources:
Data included transcripts from Dreamathon sessions conducted both in-person and online, 20 60-minute individual interviews, and three 90-minute focus groups with 2–5 participants. In addition to transcripts, participants contributed artifacts—including drawings and written reflections—capturing their personal and collective dreams.

Methods:
We used a critical qualitative approach (Brown et al., 2014) guided by reflexive thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2024) to interpret the Dreamathon data. Analysis began with open coding to identify moments where participants reflected on historical experiences, named current challenges, or articulated future-oriented visions. We engaged in recursive memoing and collaborative coding to refine themes and explore how participants understood concepts of equity, liberation, and systems change. Artifacts were analyzed alongside transcripts to support multimodal interpretation and to surface emotional, creative, and narrative dimensions of participant dreaming.
Emerging Themes:
Participants expressed difficulty engaging in freedom dreaming without acknowledging the current political and institutional constraints, particularly in a climate where equity work is being dismantled or discouraged. Many described a tension between hope and reality. Second, participants emphasized that equity in mathematics is not a static goal but a collaborative, evolving process. Participants saw equitable classrooms as responsive to students’ needs, desires, and learning goals. From the outside, it could read as “chaos,” one participant noted, but from the inside, it was purposeful. This vision of equity resisted rigid implementation and instead embraced adaptability and co-construction.

Scholarly Significance:
This study contributes to ongoing efforts to reimagine mathematics education through liberatory and justice-centered approaches. The DREAMERS project highlights how storytelling and dreaming can serve as powerful tools for collective meaning-making, system critique, and transformational design. By engaging participants in these processes, we move closer to a mathematics education that honors humanity, history, and the radical possibilities of imagination.

Authors

• Blake O'Neal Turner, Marquette University

• Rolonda L. Payne, University of Maryland