Mathematical Autobiography

Overview. Write a mathematical autobiography (at least 500 words). You’re welcome to take this in any direction you like, but if you’re having trouble getting started, here are some questions you might ponder.

What early experiences do you remember having related to math?
What are some memorable (both good and bad) experiences you’ve had with math?
Have you had any mathematical mentors who weren’t teachers in a classroom setting (eg, parents, siblings, friends)?
How has your attitude towards math changed over the years?
What is something that feels good and/or exciting about learning math? What do you find scary about it?
How does this particular math class, and math as a whole, fit into your goals in life?
Have you found it to be socially acceptable to hate math? If so, why do you think that is?
Have you noticed any differences in attitudes towards math between here and wherever you grew up?
What do you think mathematics is? How would you define it for an alien who is trying to understand what kinds of things human beings think about and how mathematics fits into the landscape of human inquiry?

But why?!? You likely weren’t expecting an essay in a math class. One reason that I’m having you do this is just that I would like to get to know you and your history with mathematics. Another reason is that there’s research in pedagogy suggesting that reflecting on your experiences and molding a coherent narrative out of your reflections can be very beneficial to the learning process.

Help! Remember that you have access to the Writing Center for help with writing assignments.

Grading. I do want to be able to understand what you’ve written, but I won’t be marking you off for your spelling or grammar or anything of the sort. All I’m looking for is evidence that you’ve genuinely reflected on your relationship with math, and that you’ve put some effort into organizing your thoughts on paper.

Mathematical Biography

Overview. Have a conversation with someone about their experiences with mathematics. Then write about your conversation.

Conversation. Choose someone to talk to who you’re comfortable having a potentially intimate conversation with: a friend, a family member, a classmate, or whoever. If possible, try to choose someone whose background is a little different from your own in some way. You might choose someone whose interest level in math is different from your own. Or you might choose someone whose identity differs from your own in some dimension. Many different dimensions of identity might impact someone’s relationship with math. There is data out there suggesting that gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity all might play a role in shaping someone’s experiences with math. Other dimensions of identity may be important as well.

It might be a good idea to plan out some questions you want to ask in advance. You might ask them some of the same questions you asked yourself when you were writing your mathematical autobiography. I also encourage you to listen respectfully to what the person you talk to has to say. Acknowledge the significance of their lived experiences and the validity of their thoughts and opinions. Ask questions as neutrally as you can. Do your best to keep your own opinions out of the conversation, unless you really think that sharing something might help them open up.

Write. After you’ve had your conversation, write roughly 500 words about it. Feel free also to use pseudonyms if that makes things feel more comfortable. Describe what you learned about this person and what your reaction to the conversation is. You might decide to compare and contrast your experiences with theirs. Feel free to structure this however makes most sense to you.

Final Reflection

Write up responses for each of the following (roughly 200-300 words each).

Interpretting statistics. In your own words, summarize the contents of the two articles you were asked to read on Week 4 Monday.
Creativity. Give an example of an idea from this class that you found creative (or just “cool”), and explain what you find creative about it. Explain the idea briefly as you would explain it to someone who hasn’t taken any statistics before. You could describe a particular technique that you learned that you found to be creative, or you could describe an instance of creativity you experienced in your own problem-solving (or someone else’s).
Meta-learning. This block, you were asked to fill out weekly forms in which you reflected on your (mathematical) learning habits. In these forms, you told me about what you were doing to learn things, what you weren’t doing, what you were hoping to change about your learning habits, etc. Describe one thing you learned about your learning habits this block. Did you discover that you weren’t doing something that maybe you should have been doing, or that you were doing something that you shouldn’t have been doing? If you set a goal for yourself to change one of your learning habits and followed through on it, what did you find?
Persistence. Take one specific problem you worked on this block that you struggled to understand and solve, and explain how the struggle itself was valuable. In the context of this question, describe the struggle and how you overcame it. Did you have a “eureka!” moment, and if so, what seemed to bring it about? You might also discuss whether struggling built aspects of character in you (endurance, self-confidence, growth mindset, etc). How might these virtues might benefit you in later ventures?