Professional Development Session: Mathematics Education

 Somehow it’s okay for people to chuckle about not being good at math. Yet, if I said “I never learned to read,” they’d say I was an illiterate dolt.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist and author 

On November 11th, 2022, I had the opportunity to attend one of the six learning sessions hosted by the Park Scholarship Faculty Scholars. There were a variety of topics including Dealing with Disappointment, Self-Care & Setting Healthy Boundaries, and The Transformative Power of Global Education. I chose to attend the session hosted by the College of Education’s Undergraduate and MAT program coordinator for Mathematics Education, Dr. Cyndi Edgington, who spoke about the purpose of school mathematics. In this session we discussed our experiences in math, the stigma around math, the true beauty of math that is often overlooked, and the overall benefits of mathematics education. Below is a video that serves as evidence of the stigma around math in our society. One of my main takeaways from this session was that, as teachers, we can combat this stigma by showing students the fun and beauty of math as well as modeling a positive view and growth mindset about the subject.