Toward envisioning inclusive learning spaces for mathematics
and sciences
The Project
When you picture a mathematician, who do you imagine? The identities we embody affect our access to and relationships with the discipline of mathematics. From a very young age, some individuals, especially girls, gender queers, and members of BIPOC communities, tend to be told, either explicitly or implicitly, that they do not belong in the STEM domains, despite their capabilities. In our project, we worked with transnational families who belong to communities that transcend national borders, and therefore can offer unique histories and cultures of mathematics and sciences.
Our project employs collaboratively constructed digital illustrated stories as a tool to serve multiple interrelated purposes: 1) to illuminate the historically hidden knowledge of mathematics and sciences exhibited by immigrant and refugee mothers and girls, 2) to facilitate conversations about inclusive mathematics and science education with key stakeholders of education including young learners, and 3) to provoke pedagogical changes toward culturally responsive and inclusive mathematics and science education.
This website was created by education researchers and teachers to design open-access resources for teachers to discuss the concepts in the discipline of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through diverse, equitable lenses. The lesson plans provided focus on the perspectives in the margin and embracing diverse forms of knowing. They are also centered around stories to bring storytelling into the STEM learning spaces.
Our project aims to transcend hierarchical, colonial, and elitist knowledge production in STEM. Through the illustrated stories, our project embraces transdisciplinarity that shines light on wisdom and ways of knowing exhibited through the everyday practices of people who have historically been marginalized in the disciplines of STEM. We made a decision to minimize texts in the illustrated stories to center visuals over texts and to intentionally keep the story unfinished for the viewers to continue the story.
We are here to engage in dialogues with you.
By Miwa Aoki Takeuchi (Project Lead)
The Project Illustrator
Shima Dadkhahfard (Illustrator, Designer, and Researcher)
Every stroke of the brush, every blend of color, and every composition drawn, reflects a narrative waiting to be told.
I am an illustrator. In my perspective, illustration is not merely a visual decoration, interpretation, or explanation of a text or idea. Rather, illustration serves as a tangible manifestation of life experiences, providing a unique insight into the unheard stories and narratives that cannot be fully conveyed through verbal and textual communication methods. Through my illustrations, I have always tried to bring these narratives to life, to give them a voice, to make them seen. As an illustrator, I see my artworks as more than just a means to visually decorate, interpret, or explain a text or concept. Rather, illustration in its essence, is a tangible manifestation of life experiences. To me, illustration is a powerful form of communication that goes beyond the limitations of words and verbal expression. It can capture the nuances of emotions, the subtleties of moments, and the complexities of thoughts that are often lost in translation when conveyed through conventional verbal and textual methods. Visual language can tell stories that are unheard or overlooked.
