Student Evaluations of a Simulation Game: Patterns in a Large Introductory Sociology Course

Szafran, Robert F.; Mandolini, Ann F.

doi:10.2307/1317045

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…As Gutstein (2012b) points out, "one important issue in teaching mathematics for social justice [is] engaging students" (p. 64) who might otherwise be uninterested or apathetic. Besides engagement, social science education scholars have shown that classroom simulations which reflect the real world can provide learners with a variety of cognitive and affective gains in: subject-matter interest, knowledge, and skills; communication abilities and connections with peers; appreciation for complex decisionmaking; and empathy in real-life situations (e.g., Greenblat, 1973;Jones & Bursens, 2015;Szafran & Mandolini, 1980). In mathematics education, it seems plausible that we might find some of the same gains, but this has not yet been shown.…”

Section: Simulations In Msj: Examples and Beneficial Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation-based mathematics and social justice activities

Von Bülow

2023

prometeica

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In this paper, various dimensions of care involved in mathematics education are linked to the need to develop classroom activities that connect mathematics and social justice issues. Drawing from literature that shows cognition is situated and embodied, the importance of meaningful contextualization and social interaction when learning mathematics is highlighted. The concept of “simulation-based mathematics and social justice activities” is presented as an approach for the work of bringing social justice issues that have mathematics at their core to the classroom. Theoretical constructs and examples are discussed, to illustrate what such simulations may entail and what may be learned from scholars, in different educational fields, who use simulations in classroom activities. Potentially beneficial features of social justice simulations are related to various educational goals, such as: decreasing arbitrary boundaries between mathematical sub-areas and between mathematics and other disciplines; providing opportunities for choice and the embodiment of different perspectives; and offering opportunities for inter-personal learning. I report on a simulation-based mathematics and social justice activity, conducted in a teacher education classroom. Students—in this case future teachers—were prompted to write reflectively about their participation in the activity. My interest lies in finding out what, if any, cognitive and affective benefits these prospective teachers connect with their experience of mathematics in the activity. To investigate this, I analyze six themes that are present in the data and illustrate each theme using excerpts of student writing. The thematic analysis allows us to learn about connections made by these students, between mathematics, in the context of the activity, and issues that are personally meaningful to them, such as: their own future teaching practice, learning and interacting with peers, beliefs and feelings about mathematics and the learning of mathematics, and different perspectives on complex decisions, involving cooperation or lack thereof, that are encountered in real life situations.

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