Deborah Loewenberg Ball and Mark Hoover - University of Michigan
(How) Can Teaching Support Young People to See Themselves as 'Math People'?
Too many adults describe themselves as “not a math person” — a discouraging outcome of their experiences in school, as well as in the broader society, that signal what being “good at math” is and who is good at it. When we think about “motivation,” we argue that teaching can interrupt this pattern through intentional work to interest and engage students in ways that build competence and positive mathematical identity. In this session we will focus on three dimensions of the work of teaching aimed at these goals: (1) the choice of mathematical tasks and the ways they are enacted in class; (2) the development of a classroom environment that centers collective work; and (3) the positioning of individual students to both see themselves and be seen as doers of mathematics. Using video records from classrooms, we will engage participants in active exploration and discussion.