Identity In The Classroom by Jenna Yingling

Personal Experience

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 12:07:58 UTC

In many of my English classes, we were often encouraged to write personal essays about important moments in our lives.
I did not experience many forms of implementing identity into my mathematics classrooms. We were often given arbitrary problems/equations to solve using a set of consecutive steps.

Bringing Identity Into Mathematics

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 12:08:28 UTC

Before developing my lessons, one of the first things I must ask myself is "How will my instruction help students to learn something about themselves and/or about others?" Through the focus of this question, I am able to center the identity of my students for their learning.

Examples

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 12:09:56 UTC

Students can be given the task to create their own word problem revolving around the content we are learning. They will be encouraged to implement aspects of their unique identities.
In my future classroom, I want my students to reflect on their mathematics identity both at the beginning and end of the school year. This is a great opportunity for me to learn more about my students and how they view math, but it is also a beneficial way for students to recognize their strengths in math.

Literacy In Mathematics

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 12:14:24 UTC

Literacy is intertwined with all aspects of mathematics. Students engage in forms of literacy through word problems, solving real-world applications of mathematics, explaining their work/thought processes, and more.

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 12:42:45 UTC

"Our goal is not just to help students become better test takers or academic achievers, but also for them to gain the confidence to use learning as a personal and sociopolitical tool to thrive in this world and to help them know themselves." (68)

"If they don't know themselves, others will tell them who they are." (69)

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 14:28:50 UTC

As Muhammed mentions, students need to see themselves in their learning. Therefore, especially for subjects such as mathematics, it is important to form the real-world connections with the mathematical content they are learning. For example, stating the purpose of learning slope before learning the equation can help students gain more of a broader understanding of the material.

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 14:37:36 UTC

In order to help my students fully dissect their own identities, it is vital that I do the same. As Muhammed mentions, "Identity is fluid, multilayered, and relational, and is also shaped by the social and cultural environment as well as by literacy practices." (67). Parts of our identities are forever changing, therefore reflecting on our identities is a never-ending process.

yingl015 — 2024-10-04 14:40:35 UTC