Bridging Continents and Classrooms: A Cross-National Study of Mathematical Storytelling in University Settings

• In Event: Global Perspectives on Digital Storytelling for Identity, Justice, and Community

Abstract

Integrating storytelling into mathematics education has received considerable attention in the last 30 years because of its impact on teaching and learning (Lemonidis & Kaiafa, 2019). Research suggests that using storytelling as a teaching method in mathematics offers several benefits for both teachers and students. For example, storytelling can help students better understand difficult mathematical concepts by placing them in real-world situations (Nepal & Shrestha, 2023; Istenic Starčič et al., 2016; Wallace et al., 2022). In our project, we explored university students’ engagement in mathematical storytelling and the opportunities it provided for their learning. Three professors (two in the United States and one in Australia) worked together to develop mathematical storytelling tasks for their courses. Their three courses had different learning goals: (1) pedagogy course focusing on middle school pre-service teachers, (2) a capstone course for math majors interested in secondary teaching, and (3) an undergraduate mathematics course for science and engineering students. The instructors designed tasks for their respective courses with the goal of employing storytelling as a pedagogical tool.
Findings from our project highlight student perceptions about storytelling and what they learned by engaging in the tasks. As mentioned earlier, the course goals were different for each setting. For the undergraduate mathematics course, the goal was for students to gain a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and for them to see the relevance of mathematics to the real world. For the teaching focused courses, the goal was for students to develop pedagogical knowledge about supporting students’ development of their mathematical identity. For all three courses, mathematical storytelling was a new concept for the students. Students were not sure how storytelling would fit inside a mathematics classroom. In the mathematics course, the students were asked to make a video highlighting a mathematical concept and its value to society. This task allowed the students to learn more about the mathematical concept they had selected in order for the audience to make sense of it. In the teaching focused courses, the students were asked to develop a lesson plan incorporating mathematical storytelling. Engaging in mathematical storytelling helped the students expand their views of mathematics teaching. Storytelling provided a platform for the students to engage with culturally responsive teaching, develop their mathematical identities, and foster engagement in mathematical learning. Students initially struggled to integrate storytelling with mathematical content but in many cases recognized its potential as a pedagogical tool for making math more meaningful and accessible. The study shows that mathematical storytelling can be an effective tool in mathematics instruction, supporting both project development in undergraduate math classrooms and the pedagogical training of future teachers.

Authors

• Zareen Aga, James Madison University

• Paul Hernandez-Martinez, Loughborough University

• Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, Sacramento State University