Overview. The primary goal of Montana Models is touse mathematical modeling as a mechanism forbringing everyday problem-solving practices already present in rural communities into contact with diciplinary practices.The project activity centers on developing, piloting, and documenting the efficacy of mathematical and statistical modeling tasks that are adaptable to a variety of local contexts.

Research Questions. 

  1. What are theeveryday problem solving practices in Montana communities? 
    1. What resources and infrastructures support and constrain the practices?
    2. How are these practices taken upin the everyday practice of the community?
  2. How can everyday problem solving practices be leveraged and brought into contact with disciplinary practices in service of mathematizing meaningful questions within the community?
    1. How do the modeling activities support students in developing contextualized understanding of issues in their own communities?
  3. How do youth identify and get identified with respect to mathematics and with respect to theirrole in the world?
    1. In what ways do these identities change and/or stabilize over time?
    2. Through what means do these identities develop?

Publications

Adeolu, A.S (2020). Practices of facilitators when planning mathematical modeling activities in an informal setting. In A.I. Sacristán, J.C. Cortés-Zavala & P.M. Ruiz-Arias, (Eds.). Mathematics Education Across Cultures: Proceedings of the 42nd Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Mexico (pp. 1456 - 1457). Cinvestav / AMIUTEM / PME-NA. 

Carlson, M.A. & Peck, F.A. (2020). Math outside the classroom. Lives and Landscapes, 5-6.

Posters, Presentations, & Seminars

Carlson, M. A. & Adeolu, A. S. (2021, October). Are we done yet? Exploring the mathematics behind disease spread. Presented at the Montana Educators Conference, Great Falls, MT. 

Carlson, M. A. (2021, February). Seeing students as problem-solvers in and out of the classroom. Presented at the Leadership Seminar on Mathematics Professional Development, Online. 

Carlson, M.A., Banner, K., & Burroughs, E. A. (2021, July). Veg out with statistics! Workshop presented at the 2021 Montana 4-H Congress, Bozeman, MT. 

Carlson, M. A. & McWalters, K. (2020, November).Identity and mathematics education research. Presented at the Joint Mathematics Education Seminar of Montana State University and the University of Montana, Online.

Carlson, M. A. & McWalters, K. (2019, September). Montana models: Community problem solving practices and dispositions. Presented at the Montana State University Mathematics Education Seminar, Bozeman, MT. 

Carlson, M.A. & Peck, F. A. (2019, February). Montana Models: How might modeling tasks reflect local knowledge and practice? Poster presented at the 2019 NSF AISL PI Meeting, Washington, DC.

Linhart, C., Carlson, M.A., & Peck, F.A. (2019, October). Bringing in the world: Making mathematics meaningful through modeling. Montana Educator’sConference, Belgrade, MT.

Peck, F. A., Carlson, M. A., Burroughs, E. A., Adeolu, A., Killeen, S., & McWalters, K., (2021). Leveraging community resources and student agency through mathematical modeling. Presented at the 2021 TODOS Conference, Online. 

Peck, F.A., Carlson, M., Adeolu, A. S., Killeen, S., & McWalters, K. (2020). Problem Solving Dispositions in Rural Communities. In A.I. Sacristán, J.C. Cortés-Zavala & P.M. Ruiz-Arias, (Eds.). Mathematics Education Across Cultures: Proceedings of the 42nd Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Mexico (pp. 1456). Cinvestav / AMIUTEM / PME-NA.

Peck, F. A. & Carlson, M. A. (2020, July). Math that makes a difference! Models and disease spread. Presented at the 2020 Montana 4-H Congress, Bozeman, MT.