Workshop

At the 1993 Algebra Initiative Colloquium, Bob Moses challenged mathematicians to take up their due role in ensuring that everyone in the country has the mathematics literacy needed for citizenship in the 21st century.         “[T]he idea of citizenship which now requires, not only a reading/writing tool but a math/science tool. The subject of math literacy and economic access, that is, how are we going to give hope to the young generation? …That's a new problem for you… The traditional role of the mathematicians has been to find the bright young math potentials and bring them to your universities and help them become mathematicians and scientists. It hasn't been a literacy effort…That's the issue that confronts us. I think the first step is to try and get hold of that as our issue.” -Bob Moses, “Algebra, the New Civil Right” (1993) More than thirty years later, his challenge remains urgent and unfulfilled as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century. This 2025 CIME workshop will interrogate what mathematical literacy might mean, why it still matters, and why it will always matter for citizenship. Literacy has been thought about in different ways — in different subjects, for different purposes, at different points in the pipeline. Bob Moses also eloquently noted that, for purposes of PreK-12 public education, students currently are citizens of the several states, but not of the nation, as students do not yet have a Federal constitutional right to K-12 public education. Likewise, citizenship means different things for different groups of people. After considering ways literacy and its relation to citizenship have been considered, the workshop will examine approaches to mathematical literacy that disrupt existing patterns of inclusion and exclusion, and the different roles we all have in ensuring literacy. Then, probing implications for policy, practice, and action, the workshop will offer ideas and resources participants can take back or implement on their own and the next steps for building coalitions for meaningful change. Guiding Questions Three questions will guide the workshop design:  1. What would a framework to describe mathematical literacy for citizenship now and in the future include? How has literacy (for citizenship) been thought about in other subjects, for different purposes, and at different points in the pipeline? What literacies are needed to fully participate in the endeavor of being a citizen now and in the future? What is the mathematical literacy that is needed? 2. How can we ensure that an approach to mathematical literacy for citizenship disrupts existing patterns of inclusion and exclusion? How has the idea of mathematical literacy helped or hindered those in marginalized groups? How might this effort be misused and how might it deal with the threat of deficit thinking about expectations for students and communities? 3. What are the arenas in which we work and what are the goals and actions for what we do in those arenas? What strategies and pedagogical approaches have proven effective in promoting mathematics literacy for citizenship in K-12 classrooms? Where and how are such resources being disseminated and what more are needed? How can policymakers, mathematicians, educators, and other stakeholders collaboratively support and advocate for K-12 mathematics literacy initiatives, ensuring students are equipped to succeed in higher education without remediation, navigate complex societal challenges, and contribute meaningfully to a thriving democracy? How do we jointly organize the many facets of mathematical literacy, diverse perspectives, and multiple constituencies to spearhead a national campaign to raise the floor of math literacy? What are the implications of K-12 mathematical literacy for citizenship for higher education? The long-term impact of the workshop relies on the participation of research mathematicians, mathematics educators, educational researchers, teachers of school mathematics, and policymakers. It will consider the issue from these different perspectives and will support all participants in working in their roles and contexts to raise the floor for mathematical literacy for citizenship.