#DesmosDemo & Data Literacy
Although
@Desmos & Data Literacy overlap [e.g.
What’s Going On In This Graph? partnership with the New York Times] this post is not about their intersection.
Desmos Demo: I would like to see the hashtag #DesmosDemo become more popular, and my succinct[ish] rationale follows.
I have noticed some very impressive Desmos graphs. One recent example arose when I was perusing the Desmos subreddit, which led to this origami graph of a piece of paper folding into a crane [click through for the GIF]:
Another pair of examples arose when I asked [on behalf of another math teacher] about having students recreate the
following in Desmos:
These are all great, but they leave me [and I’m sure others] wondering about the creative process behind these graphs. This can manifest as inspiring – I’m curious about these great graphs and want to get better! – or as discouraging – these people are doing incredible work that is simply beyond me and anything I could make.
Idea: What if math educators [and graph enthusiasts, more generally] did screen captures as they made these creations in Desmos? Viewers could observe the process directly and (1) learn techniques to build on their own curiosity while (2) noting the confusion that inevitably arises, which might reduce discouragement.
I have proposed
#DesmosDemo as a hashtag to accompany such descriptions; so far, we already have a couple of great examples from
@aknauft:
Ae you willing to make one? No graph is too simple, and I’d be happy to see ones that didn’t work out, too! If you @ me, then I will amplify as best as I can.
Data Literacy: I have noticed a recent uptick in calls for shifting mathematics classes towards “data literacy” [or something similarly named] which coincide with a Jo Boaler [@joboaler] appearance on @Freakonomics as well as an op-ed that she coauthored for the LA Times:
You can find some responses to the Freakonomics podcast located in
various tweets, but here I’d like to recommend a paper from Laurie Rubel [
@LaurieRubel] and Thomas Philip:
Below are two excerpts, which come from a paper that I think deserves the attention of most anyone thinking about shifting towards data literacy:
Excerpt 1, Power-With versus Power-Over
Excerpt 2, Conclusions [Emphasis Added]
The full paper is available [for free!]
here. I know that reading a research paper is a Big Ask if one’s preferred consumption of information is in tweet-sized chunks. So, please know that I do not make this recommendation whimsically.
Closing ICYMI [aka Saving the Best for Last]: There is a Must-Listen
podcast discussion “about the culture of mathematics” between Marian Dingle [
@DingleTeach] and Cathery Yeh [
@YehCathery]. Less than 30 minutes, and worth listening to more than once! The link above contains a transcript, too.
As always: Feel free to get in touch with me – by email, by @’ing me, by DM, snail mail, carrier pigeon, etc – if there is work in/around the world of mathematics education that you believe should be highlighted.
