Cosby and Wandler | EPET Brown Bag, March 20, 2017

Missy Cosby, EPET Student

“Double Threat: Gender, Race, and Stereotypes in Mathematics for African American Girls”

J. Brad Wandler, EPET Student

“What Does Mathematical Discourse Look Like in an Online Introductory Statistics Course?”

Abstract: The purpose of my practicum study is to explore the ways that African American girls/young women are experiencing school mathematics and developing mathematics identities in a society that sends negative messages and sustains narratives and stereotypes about their belonging or abilities to learn and achieve in the domain as both African Americans and as girls/women. This qualitative study proposes the use of novel and experimental methodological techniques for data collection and access to the phenomenon under consideration. Post a brief overview of the project, a description of the data collection tools, and the sharing of some preliminary data, I hope to engage with EPET faculty and students in a discussion around the effectiveness of the tools and potential analytical techniques that could be employed for analysis.

Abstract: In 2005 the American Statistical Association (ASA) endorsed a report outlining guidelines for assessment and instruction in college-level introductory statistics courses (GAISE, 2005). And in 2016, the ASA endorsed a new updated report (GAISE, 2016). Both reports outline goals for students in introductory college-level statistics courses and recommendations for educators to help students achieve these goals. In each report, the fourth recommendation was to foster active learning. However, the 2016 report recognized that the instructional format has changed to include more distance learning options. As such, the authors of the 2016 report emphasized the need “to foster interactions between students for discussions and collaborations regarding learning” regardless of the instructional format (GAISE, 2016, p. 136). But unfortunately, it is not clear to educators what environmental factors promote quality statistical discourse in an online introductory college-level statistics course, or more importantly, what statistical discourse looks like in these online environments. In an attempt to address the second question, J. Brad Wandler will present the initial design of a framework developed to describe the mathematical discourse which occurred between students as they worked synchronously online to complete various statistical tasks using an online tool called TitanPad.