Fostering Mathematical Brilliance in All Students
By Dr. Christa Jackson, Professor of Mathematics, Science, and STEM Education at Saint Louis University and Reveal Math Author
Take a moment to think back to a time when you were in elementary, middle (for some of us junior high), high school, and college. Who were the mathematicians you discussed and learned about during your mathematics lessons? Pythagoras, Gauss, and Euclid were probably some of the mathematicians who came to mind.
Now, consider the learners in your classroom. What social identities do they embody? Examples of social identities include race, ethnicity, gender, social class, (dis)abilities, religion/religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and so on.
Take a moment to consider a mathematician you have learned about or discussed either during your K-12 career, your teacher education preparation, or your current teaching practice that reflects the social identities of the learners in your classroom. For many of us, it is challenging to identify one or two mathematicians who emanate the social identities of the learners in our classroom.
“Representation matters because it can shape the reputation and self-image of women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color within environments dominated by over-represented majorities,” (Ijoma et al., 2022).
It is essential for us as educators to be cognizant of whom we exemplify as mathematicians in our classrooms because it sends messages to our learners about the mathematicians and the mathematical contributions we value.
I would like to briefly share two mathematicians that we do not traditionally discuss in our mathematics classroom — but should.
Gladys West, Mathematician and Programmer
The first mathematician is Gladys West. West was born on October 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Virginia. She grew up on a farm in rural Virginia in a community of sharecroppers. Although she came from modest means, she had bigger dreams for herself, and it started with a college education. Her family couldn’t afford college, so she studied hard and graduated at the top of her class. She earned a full-ride scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University). When she started college, she was encouraged to study mathematics or science because they were difficult and well-respected subjects. She chose mathematics.
After she taught for a few years and earned a Master’s in Mathematics, she began her career at the Naval Proving Ground (Naval Surface Warfare Center) in 1956. At that time, she was the second Black woman the organization ever hired and one of three Black employees. While West worked for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, she programmed and coded computers, studied the orbit of Pluto, and proved that for every two orbits Pluto makes, Neptune makes three.
West spent most of her career working with satellites, using mathematics to model the shape of the Earth and developing satellite geodesy models. For this work, she programmed one of the fastest computers available at the time to provide calculations that would lead to an accurate geodetic model of the Earth. The algorithms West used took into consideration the variations in gravitational and tidal forces that alter the Earth’s shape. She analyzed information retrieved from satellites and developed altimeter models of the shape of the Earth. Her calculations showed that the shape of the Earth was a geoid, which is an ellipsoid with some extra undulations.
West’s work in determining the precise shape of the Earth and its orbits as well as precise measurements of its surface was critical in using satellites to identify precise locations on Earth, which contributed to the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. The more precise each of these elements was, the more accurate the locations identified by GPS. After West retired, she earned a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy Affairs from Virginia Tech at the age of 70.
Kathleen Ollerenshaw, Mathematician and Puzzle Solver
The other mathematician, Kathleen Ollerenshaw, was born on October 1, 1912 in Withington, England. When Ollerenshaw was young, she had a genetic condition that affected her hearing. That condition combined with a severe viral infection when she was about eight years old left her almost completely deaf.
Mathematics was one of Ollerenshaw’s favorite areas of study, and she made sense of the mathematical concepts by examining the visual representations, solutions, and proofs others shared. She specifically enjoyed searching for patterns, solving logic problems, and putting together puzzles. Ollerenshaw continued her work in mathematics for decades where she completed advanced mathematical proofs and served as the first female president of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA).
In her Presidential Address, Ollerenshaw discussed the magic of mathematics. She analyzed the mathematics behind “magic squares” and in 1980 published the first general solution for solving the Rubik's cube puzzle with the fewest moves. Ollerenshaw’s sheer determination and her tenacious approach to solving the Rubik’s Cube resulted in the first known cubist’s thumb, which is an injury that resulted from turning and twisting her joints, which severely damaged her tendons. She is one mathematician who can claim her accomplishments were achieved through arduous physical movements!
Mathematics Representation in the Classroom
Both of these mathematicians and many others (see Jackson et al., in press), embody the social identities of the learners in our classrooms. When learners encounter mathematicians with whom they can identify, they readily become more open to embracing a mathematical identity where their mathematical brilliance can be nurtured.
I would like to leave you with three questions to reflect upon as we strive to foster our learners’ mathematical brilliance.
- Which mathematicians do we include in our mathematics lessons and how do we value their mathematical contributions in our mathematics instruction?
- How are we positioning every learner as competent doers, thinkers, and sense-makers of mathematics?
- How are we acknowledging the mathematical brilliance of each learner in our classroom?
Dr. Christa Jackson is a Professor of Mathematics, Science, and STEM Education at Saint Louis University. She is the Founder and Director of the Institute for STEM Collaboration, Outreach, Research, and Education (iSCORE), where she focuses on transforming the STEM community one mind at a time through fostering scholars’ STEM literacy development, STEM identities, and STEM sense of belonging. Dr. Jackson served as a lead writer for Catalyzing Change in Middle School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations. She recently completed her term as President of the School Science and Mathematics Association (2020–2022). Dr. Jackson is a professional developer and a mathematics and STEM consultant who has provided workshops to local, regional, national, and international communities. Christa is a former elementary and middle school mathematics and science teacher and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri–Columbia. She is the editor of the Powerful Mathematicians who Changed the World children’s book series.
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References
Ijoma, J. N.,, Sahn, M., Mack, K. N., Akam, E., Edwards, K. J., Wang, X., Surpur, A., & Henry, K. E. (2022). Visions by WIMIN: BIPOC representation matters, Molecular Imaging and Biology, 24, 353–358. doi 10.1007/s11307–021–01663–4
Jackson, C., Taylor, C., Buchheister, K., Jurgenson, K., Stagg, J., & Howard, V. (accepted). Powerful Mathematicians who Changed the World from A to Z. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
