Nurturing primary students’ identity-enhancing practices through mathematical modeling routines

Calls for mathematics teaching and learning that fosters critical thinking and problem solving, and cultivates competencies such as collaboration and empathy, require curricular interventions that support students in developing strong mathematics identities. We argue that mathematical modeling, a cyclic process that involves modelers translating a real-world problem to the mathematical world so that it can be better understood using mathematical tools, is a lever for equity because it creates opportunities for identity-enhancing mathematics learning. In this study, we use an identity as participation lens. We view mathematics identity formation as a participatory process where students learn who they are as doers and thinkers of mathematics through participation in culturally situated practices. We describe a design experiment where we collaborated with primary grades teachers to create and implement a series of four mathematical modeling routines. Through analysis of routine implementation in a first-grade classroom, our findings illuminate ways students engaged in mathematical modeling practices and how their participation was identity-enhancing. Implications for future research, including the role of the teacher in supporting identity-enhancing mathematics learning through mathematical modeling routines, are discussed.