Teaching Mathematics for Spatial Justice: Beyond a Victory Narrative

Abstract

In this reflective essay, Laurie H. Rubel, Maren Hall-Wieckert, and Vivian Y. Lim present a design heuristic for teaching mathematics for spatial justice (TMSpJ) based on their development of two curricular modules, one about the state lottery and the other about financial services in a city. Spatial tools, including data visualizations on maps and participatory mapping, were designed for youth to examine spatial injustices in these systems. The authors' findings report reflections about supporting students to “read and write the world with mathematics” (Freire & Macedo, 1987; Gutstein, 2003). These reflections inform an expanded design heuristic for TMSpJ.

The Map as Object: Working Beyond Bounded Realities and Mapping for Social Change

“…Mapping technology has also been included in community engagement projects and sites of activism (Elwood & Mitchell, 2013;Foth, Bajracharya, Brown, & Hearn, 2009), leading to a new form of visual politics (Miller, 2012;Rubel, Hall-Wieckert, & Lim, 2016;Segel & Heer, 2010;Wyly et al, 2012). Scaled representation of the community has helped stakeholders understand political implications for their community in a broader context (Helfenbein & Buendia, 2017).…”

Connecting Mathematics, Community, Culture and Place: Promise, Possibilities, and Problems

“…Much of the place-based education research, such as that articulated by Smith and Sobel (2010), has focused on rural contexts, where land and ecological experiences are perhaps more easily accessed than in urban contexts. However, Rubel et al (2016) argue that working with large data sets on questions of place provides opportunities to examine cities as places of economic and social inequities, providing opportunity for some, and disadvantage for others. Like Enyedy et al (2011), Rubel et al (2016 also use participatory mapping as a tool to reveal social injustices through spatial perspectives.…”

Invited Lectures from the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education

“…Much of the place-based education research, such as that articulated by Smith and Sobel (2010), has focused on rural contexts, where land and ecological experiences are perhaps more easily accessed than in urban contexts. However, Rubel et al (2016) argue that working with large data sets on questions of place provides opportunities to examine cities as places of economic and social inequities, providing opportunity for some, and disadvantage for others. Like Enyedy et al (2011), Rubel et al (2016) also use participatory mapping as a tool to reveal social injustices through spatial perspectives.…”

“…However, Rubel et al (2016) argue that working with large data sets on questions of place provides opportunities to examine cities as places of economic and social inequities, providing opportunity for some, and disadvantage for others. Like Enyedy et al (2011), Rubel et al (2016) also use participatory mapping as a tool to reveal social injustices through spatial perspectives. Rubel et al (2016) provide examples of possible investigations of reading and writing the urban context with mathematics.…”

“…Like Enyedy et al (2011), Rubel et al (2016) also use participatory mapping as a tool to reveal social injustices through spatial perspectives. Rubel et al (2016) provide examples of possible investigations of reading and writing the urban context with mathematics. They suggest that the "urban setting is particularly conducive for TMSpJ [Teaching Mathematics for Spatial Justice] and participatory mapping because it is so densely populated and highly wired with cellular and data networks and services" (p. 561).…”