The discussion in this web discussion on  Math and Social Justice focuses on how mathematics education can be used to forward social justice and how social justice can be used to improve mathematics education. The issues in the article most relevant to our Developmental Math project are equity in mathematics education for all types of students and incorporating social justice issues into the curriculum. 

The issue of equity in mathematics education is especially relevant to our project. The large number of students in the CSU system requiring remediation could be a consequence of inequity in mathematics education.  With respect to our project, will the effort to reduce cost bring about any inequities with respect to success in the course? This is probably most relevant with the emphasis on the use of math software. For example, how would the performance of students who used their own computer compare to students who only had access to campus own computers? Also, how does a student’s technological fluency affect how they learn mathematics using a computer? Many math software products require plug-ins or Java to be installed before they can be used. How does a student’s ability to get the program working on their computer influence how they use the math software product?

The idea of incorporating social justice issues into the curriculum is that it will make math more interesting to students from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds. Typically such issues involve mathematics applied to economics. For example, the book, Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers, edited by Eric Gutstein and Bob Patterson (Rethinking Schools, Ltd., 2005) contains projects on home buying, media control, production/wage issues, globalization, and distribution of wealth. Having a rich set of applications available to developmental instructors might be something to include in the course redesign. The Math and Social Justice website had three examples for K-12, including one analyzing the costs and benefits of dividing a large school into two smaller ones - which could likely be adapted to a college class example.

I find the Digital Bridge Academy at Cabrillo College very interesting. I couldn't discern from the literature how they used mathematics in their curriculum, but I think this program illustrates how good student support programs can facilitate student success.

Michael Scott