The theme of Radford University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is Scholar-Citizen: Create. Connect. Contribute. This is the first in a series of stories showcasing faculty members who are helping students do exactly that.
We all want to change the world, but how many of us have a plan?
Laura Jacobsen does, and she takes an unconventional approach toward emphasizing how mathematics can be part of the change.
An associate professor in Radford University’s School of Teacher Education and Leadership, Jacobsen hopes her work can prepare undergraduates to use academics to give back to society and to be engaged, reflective and critical as lifelong learners and as citizens.
As a mathematics educator interested in K-12 education, Jacobsen believes children need opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of mathematics content and, further, to form connections between math and the world around them by applying their skills to social issues.
Professionally, she tries to prepare future and current teachers to create these kinds of learning opportunities for children.
“So often, we teach math for the sake of teaching math,” Jacobsen said. “We need to teach children that, if they better understand math and apply it to their everyday lives, they can become more powerful citizens.”
Jacobsen began thinking of such issues while in graduate school, she said. Soon after joining the Radford University faculty in 2005, she put her plan into action by developing a class, Math 312, for undergraduate students whose career aspirations involve teaching elementary and middle-school children.
The goal of the class, Jacobsen said, is to help her Math 312 students better understand mathematics, while also preparing them and informing them of ways they can help youngsters make connections between math and their surroundings.
It’s not enough to teach those methods in the classroom, she said. “We have to get our students off campus and working with real kids and meeting real families. It’s extremely valuable.”
Beans and Rice, a provider of economic and educational programs for low- and moderate-income families in the city of Radford, offers after-school programs for elementary and middle-school students. The programs are perfect opportunities for Jacobsen’s teachers-to-be to interact with children and teach them the value of improving their math skills and the relevance of math in understanding or even changing the world around them.
“Many of our after-school students struggle with basic number awareness. Their mathematical skills are often below grade level, and they cannot keep pace with rigorous math standards,” said Eric Bucey, director of Beans and Rice. “Through their Math 312 service-learning project, Dr. Jacobsen's students plan and lead kinesthetic and tactile enrichment activities that help students develop prerequisite skills they need to keep pace.”
Monday through Thursday, Jacobsen’s scholars visit Beans and Rice, working with the children on activities they create. The aim is to make math exciting and useful by offering the youngsters mathematics activities that are appropriate for their grade levels.
Those activities, the professor said, involve countless topics, including how to apply math to living a healthy lifestyle, analyze and critique gender roles in society, make recommendations for school or community improvement, and how to save money.
“They seem to be really excited about environmental-related activities too, such as calculating percentages of people who recycle or simple things like sorting different types of recyclables,” Jacobsen said. “Rain forest depletion is a popular topic among my students and the Beans and Rice kids.”
What’s important here, Jacobsen said, is that both her students and the Beans and Rice kids are learning, in different ways, how to use mathematical calculations to make a positive impact on their communities.
“My goal is to help our students be better prepared for their careers, to be better prepared to make math meaningful for kids, which I hope will engage the kids more in math,” Jacobsen said. “And through this, I hope it helps them become better citizens because they are thinking about why math matters.”
In class, Jacobsen has an open dialogue with her students about their service-learning activities, asking them to reflect on what they have learned so far through their lessons with the youngsters.
At the beginning of their service-learning experience at Beans and Rice, Jacobsen said, her students are just trying to “keep their heads above water.” But as the semester moves along, they are talking more about the importance of establishing a rapport with the children they are teaching.
Over the past three years, Jacobsen has sent more than 200 students to Beans and Rice, and she works closely with the organization to ensure the program is benefiting all involved.
“In any service-learning experience, it’s important to have a real working relationship so there is a real partnership,” the professor said. “You just can’t do things to the organization. Both groups have to get something out of the volunteer work.”
Jacobsen’s ideals are harmonious with Radford University’s scholar-citizen initiative, which promotes a teaching and learning culture that fosters the university’s sense of living and learning in ways that best contribute to the advancement of society.
“To me the ideal scholar-citizens are learning about making those connections between their academics and their local and global communities, and how to be a more responsible, more informed and active member of society,” Jacobsen said. “My job as a teacher educator is to foster that, and that’s always been my interest. That is something I have always cared about.”
