Humanizing Rational Numbers in Middle School

Abstract

This paper aims to re-examine the curricular pedagogy and framework of math education, particularly concerning rational numbers in middle school. The introduction presents an overview of sequential pathways and statistical data in U.S. mathematics education, followed by a summary of rational number concepts through the lens of constructivist learning theory and the author’s positionality surrounding these topics. The literature review explores attributes of successful organizations and systems, followed by an analysis of mathematics education in the U.S. as an organizational system, and the evolution of the language of mathematics to its current state. Implications for learning are then considered from the following perspectives: students, teachers, and curricula. Considering national and anecdotal data, math learning theory, the rational number domain as a sequential step to algebra, and the physio-cultural evolution of our number system, arguments and strategies for humanizing rational numbers for students are presented. The author hypothesizes that a dual-pronged approach of (a) increasing students’ sense of agency and belonging in the math classroom by offering students a way to recognize themselves as successive participants in the global journey of math; and (b) providing base-ten contextualized algorithmic lessons that demystify common operational stumbling blocks within the rational number domain, holds the potential to appease both sides of the systemic math education debate (accessibility vs. rigor) and lay the groundwork for students’ future academic opportunities by increasing their math achievement.