Using Inquiry Principles of Art to Explore Mathematical Practice Standards

With the implementation by 43 states of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, many teacher educators, administrators, and classrooms teachers are asking how the Standards for Mathematical Practice can be integrated into daily teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) plus the arts—STEAM—might assist practitioners in realizing the call set forth in the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Using a constructivist framework, the primary investigators worked with the Columbus Museum of Art to integrate the learning-thinking model of observe, describe, interpret, and prove (ODIP) into their mathematics methods courses. Over the course of three semesters, pre-service middle childhood teachers were trained in the ODIP model at the museum, practiced the model at the university, and implemented the model abroad during a study trip to Spain. Data collection primarily took the form of written journal entries and reflective responses to inquiry prompts. Qualitative narrative analysis was used to analyze the data, which led to findings that demonstrate how ODIP aligned with three of the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The researchers concluded that STEM concepts can be illuminated through the arts and that the ODIP model was a beneficial pedagogical tool that holds educational significance as a method to promote the Standards for Mathematical Practice in middle childhood education.