Research Interest

Odiwuor, B., & Graysay, D. (2022). Enhancing Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Problem Solving Skills through Lesson Study

Abstract. In mathematics education, significant attention has been given to understanding the knowledge teachers need to effectively teach mathematics. While much research has focused on the knowledge of pre-service and beginning teachers in the context of classroom mathematical problem-solving, there is limited insight into the knowledge in-service secondary teachers use to develop and teach mathematics through problem-solving. This participatory action research via lesson study reports the knowledge nine secondary math teachers in sub-Saharan Africa used to craft problem-solving lessons. The data revealed a collective understanding of problem-solving as involving high level, open middle tasks grounded in students' everyday experiences

Graysay, D., & Odiwuor, B. (2022). Undergraduate calculus students’ perceptions of the characteristics of good responses. In S. S. Karunakaran & A. Higgins (Eds.), 24th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 995–1000). Boston, MA 

Abstract. We conducted preliminary research on effectiveness of contrasting examples in supporting students in introductory calculus to conceptualize explanation as a genre of mathematical writing. Drawing on principles from Variation Theory (Marton, 2014) we constructed sets of mathematical responses, each designed to contrast along a critical dimension. Participants compared responses, identified similarities and differences, and ranked responses from better to worse. Participants discerned dimensions of variation that were consistent with our intentions and positioned clarity and efficiency as particularly valuable features. However, we conclude the report by problematizing the limitations of variation theory as an instructional design based on the ways that such design is likely to perpetuate norms and expectations for communication in mathematics that risk marginalizing students.

Erskine, A., Odiwuor, B., & Fonger, N. L. (2022). An exploratory action research study of social justice mathematics in undergraduate precalculus. In Lischka, A. E., Dyer, E. B., Jones, R. S., Lovett, J. N., Strayer, J., & Drown, S. (Eds). The 44th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 382-386) Middle Tennessee State University

Abstract. In this exploratory action research study we investigated teaching mathematics for social justice in undergraduate mathematics. We asked: How if at all do undergraduate students consider the importance of local social justice issues as embedded in the context of a precalculus course assignment?; As instructors, how might feedback from students’ experiences of a social justice mathematics lab inform our future teaching and research practices? In this paper we discuss emerging findings from our initial analyses. We also elaborate how these findings will inform our ongoing efforts to link research and practice at the intersection of supporting students’ math cognition and exploring social justice issues through teaching mathematics for social justice. 

Caviness, S., Fonger, N. L., Voyias, K., Njue, E., Odiwuor, O., (under review). “It was meaningful because [this] is now my home”: locality-identity and social justice mathematics. The 45th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp.) 

Abstract. Designing for and enacting social justice mathematics tasks is one approach to supporting students’ meaningful mathematics learning. We share our design conjectures that were developed out of a theoretically grounded, empirically based investigation of undergraduate students’ experiences of a social justice mathematics lab. We engaged an interdisciplinary lens of historically responsive literacy and identity in both the lab design and analyses of student responses. We have conducted four cycles of action research that contribute to a broader program of design-based research. Based on thematic analyses of qualitative data, we introduce the construct of locality-identity as a main theme in the data. Attending to locality-identity in the design of this lab increased student engagement with mathematics by making mathematics relevant and authentic.