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In this true story, one mathematics major supports another in an unexpected way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A binary operation # on Z + is said to be an associative arithmetic if both # and its iteration — the binary operation ∗ defined recursively by: x∗1 = x and x∗y = [x ∗ (y −1)]#x — are associative. E. Rosinger [6] showed that under reasonable conditions an associative arithmetic must be ordinary addition. However, in the general case, there are associative arithmetics that are not ordinary addition. This paper gives examples of these as well as results towards a structure theorem for associative arithmetics. The paper also describes the role that this particular math problem has played in my mathematical life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics can be used as a tool to question and critique society and, in doing so, give us more information about the world around us and how it operates. This however, is not a common perspective that is conveyed to students during their undergraduate mathematics coursework. This paper contributes to the understanding of how undergraduate mathematics students question and critique society via mathematical modeling tasks. In two courses at two universities, 27 mathematics majors and secondary preservice teachers engaged in the modeling process situated in authentic contexts to learn specific concepts and make mathematical connections across domains and disciplines. Both courses culminated in a final project in which students created and investigated solutions to their own modeling tasks. In this paper, we describe how our courses (1) centered justice as pedagogy, (2) were environments for student agency and exploration, and (3) explicitly demonstrated how mathematics and social justice are intertwined. Drawing on frameworks of mathematical modeling for social justice, we present and analyze student-created tasks to showcase how they utilized mathematics as a tool to question and critique the world around them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides insight into the mathematics and designs of quilts inspired by Fibonacci and logarithmic spirals. We introduce the history and development of the Fibonacci number sequence and how to hand-draw a Fibonacci spiral. Further, we explain the relationship between the Fibonacci spiral and logarithmic spirals, the advantages of using logarithmic spirals to create designs, and how to produce digital spiral designs using Desmos, a free web-based graphing calculator. Finally, we discuss methods for designing spiral quilts or other triangle and spiral designs (such as collage or other media) and derive a formula for calculating the apex angles of the triangles. We hope to inspire the reader’s imagination to spiral out of bounds to explore, create, and discover the beauty of mathematics in what you will create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we, a group of graduate students in mathematics education, discuss some of the metacognitive benefits of the non-traditional teaching methods we observed employed by one of our professors. This professor's methods challenge the common belief that well-managed class time is key for positive learning outcomes. Instead, he orients his teaching to share the exploration and sense-making phases of doing mathematics. The goal of his teaching is to share the idea that learning mathematics is a process of "refining our mathematical thinking". We argue that this approach to teaching helps students see that mathematics is a human endeavor, appreciate the cycles of learning mathematics and the importance of struggle throughout the process, and gain some insight on what it means to be an expert in mathematics. We encourage teachers and professors to move away from obsessing about structured, well-organized class time, and to instead move towards having flexible and risk-oriented class time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite convincing arguments by mathematicians, philosophers, sociologists and machine learning practitioners to the contrary, there remains a widespread notion amongst many members of the general public (and some practitioners) that mathematics is neutral, that it is free from human values. One reason why this notion persists is that we lack clear-cut examples that demonstrate how mathematics and values are intertwined. In this paper, we offer one such example. In particular, we show that when sharing four biscuits between three people, several possible mathematical and ethical frameworks can be used. We demonstrate that different solutions--hiding one biscuit, arbitrarily sharing the extra biscuit, randomizing allocation, dividing the extra biscuit into three parts, and successively dividing it into smaller and smaller parts--involve different mathematical methods and evoke different human values. We discuss the construction of quantum biscuit splitting devices and the use of machine learning to divide biscuits. We argue that the multitude of different mathematically-correct solutions to this problem (each with its own ethical justification) might influence the values held by practicing mathematicians. The example we propose here has been used in teaching to help students understand why mathematics cannot be cleanly separated from human values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details a semester-long course project that has been successfully adapted for use in mathematics courses ranging from introductory level, generaleducation classes to advanced courses in the mathematics major. Through creating aspirational mathematical family trees and writing mathematical autobiographies, this assignment is designed to help battle belonging uncertainty, to challenge students to self-situate in relation to the history of mathematical and scientific knowledge, and to make visible a student's developing identity in mathematics and, more broadly, in STEM. The construction and scaffolding of the project, assignments, examples of student work, foundational readings, assessment and outcomes, and adaptation strategies for various classroom settings are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we teach people about the economics of labor and exploitation in mathematics courses? We define a mathematical model for describing the relationships embodied by commodities and labor. We then use this model to illustrate the exploitative nature of profit and the tendency for catastrophic chain-reactions that lead to market crashes. Lastly, we discuss applications to pedagogy in mathematics courses using a simplified version of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I discuss the role of intuitive explanations in the learning, teaching, and popularization of mathematics. Several examples of such explanations are presented, related to linguistic explanations, perception, empirical models, and internal explanations inside mathematics itself. I emphasize the fact that intuitive explanations in a sense transgress mere mathematical arguments. I also discuss in brief the role of paradox resolution in mathematical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics is often presented as a neatly polished finished product, yet its development is messy and often full of mis-steps that could have been avoided with hindsight. An experience with a puzzle illustrates this conflict. The puzzle asks for the probability that a group of four and a group of two are seated adjacently within a hundred seats, and is solved using combinatorics techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss an autobiographical writing assignment that we call an "automathography" which can be used in different types of mathematics and mathematics education courses, and by extension, in other disciplines as well. This assignment can enhance student-instructor interactions, develop student communication skills, and provide outlets for student creativity by leveraging the lived experiences of students. We have deployed the assignment in different kinds of classes (general education [service] courses and major-only seminars) at different kinds of institutions (a private, open-admission, large university on the East Coast and a private, highly selective, small liberal arts college on the West Coast). We argue that the automathography can be used in both lower- and upper-level courses as a way of encouraging others to develop similar assignments and gain the benefits to instructors and their students associated with the use of a powerful pedagogical tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of d'epaysement 'epist'emologique (epistemological disorientation) aims to capture the sense of disorientation when a learner is led to question their prior assumptions and understandings, generating uncertainty in a context in which they thought they had certain knowledge. This article describes an activity used with a group of practicing mathematics teachers in Uruguay that integrates elements of the history of mathematics related to Gödel's incompleteness theorem, with the aim of provoking in the participants the experience of d'epaysement 'epist'emologique. Results show that several of the teachers participating in the activity felt d'epaysement 'epist'emologique, and this feeling triggered empathy towards their own students. The article ends with a discussion of the real possibilities of integrating the history of mathematics in secondary mathematics courses and in the training of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]