WRITING AND READING MULTIPLICITY IN THE UNI-VERSE: ENGAGEMENTS WITH MATHEMATICS THROUGH POETRY NENAD RADAKOVIC, SUSAN JAGGER, LIMIN JAO
In
the article “Writing and Reading Multiplicity in the Uni-verse,” the ways in
which poetry may be used to engage students with mathematics on a personal
level were investigated. The article was inspired by Nanao Sakaki’s poem, which
used expanding circles of scale, and the author challenged teacher education
students to write their own poems that make personal connections to mathematics
concepts such as distance, scale, and place value. At first, the instructors sought
mathematical accuracy in the students' poems and were disappointed. However,
after re-reading the students poems and drawing on the ideas of Derrida and
Barthes, the instructors realized that the meaning of the poems was created by readers.
Therefore, the instructors started to see the students' poems as authentic and
personal. The article concluded that the use of poetry creates a safe and
dialogic space for students to explore their understanding of mathematics and
highlights the dynamic process of “knowing” mathematics.
Stop
1: Multiplicity of Meaning
I
stopped reading when the authors discussed Derrida and Barthes and how meaning
is not necessarily created in a text but by the reader. It made me think about
how we are always looking for the correct mathematical meaning in a student’s
work. In the article, the two instructors were initially disappointed because
they did not see strong mathematics in the poems. However, they eventually
realized that the students were engaged with mathematics in personal and
metaphorical ways.I stopped reading at this part because it made me think about
my own teaching practices as a mathematics educator. It’s not just about
correctness in mathematics; it’s about how we make meaning as well. It’s
closely related to my own beliefs about personal mathematics learning.
Stop
2
I
also stopped at the section where students were given the opportunity to write
their poetry related to mathematics. It was similar to the Fibonacci poems that
the students wrote in the classroom. In the Fibonacci poems, the number of
syllables is related to the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so
on. It may not be the case that the student thinks to themselves, “I am using
recursive number patterns,” but they are making connections to mathematics
through the rhythm and creativity of their work.I stopped here because I
realized that poetry related to mathematics, like the Fibonacci poems, helps
make mathematics a safe place where students feel comfortable being creative
and expressing themselves. It shows that mathematics is both logical and
creative.
Question:
Do
you have any experience teaching mathematics through poetry? What did you
notice about students engagement and understanding?
Hi Rosmy,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your reflection on multiplicity of meaning. That shift from asking “Is the math correct?” to asking “How is the student making meaning?” feels significant. It can be uncomfortable, especially when we are trained to prioritize precision, but it opens up a different way of listening to students. I liked how honestly you described the instructors’ initial disappointment. That tension feels very real in teaching.
Your connection to Fibonacci poems is also thoughtful. Students may not consciously think, “I am applying recursive structure,” but they are experiencing the pattern through rhythm and constraint. That kind of embodied engagement can sometimes create deeper understanding than explicit explanation alone.
I have seen something similar when I am invited to represent mathematics visually or narratively. Engagement shifts. I participate more because the entry point is not only procedural fluency. It’s not that correctness disappears, but it becomes part of a broader exploration rather than the sole goal.
Your post makes me wonder whether allowing multiplicity of meaning actually expands what counts as mathematical understanding. If that is the case, how might our assessment practices need to change to honor that expansion?
Thank you, Rosmy.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you highlighted the way poetry can reshape the definition of mathematics, shifting it from something purely objective to something deeply subjective and personal. That framing really resonates with me. I love how poems open up space for students to experience mathematics rather than just perform correctness; it expands what counts as mathematical thinking.
I haven’t personally taught mathematics through poetry, but I can easily imagine the rich possibilities it creates, especially in math and science classrooms where concepts often feel abstract or distant. When students write poems, they bring their own histories, metaphors, and emotions into the learning process. This kind of activity can help students see patterns, scale, structure, and relationships in ways that feel meaningful rather than mechanical.
In math, poetry could give students a creative entry point into ideas like sequences, symmetry, infinity, or measurement. In science, it could help them express phenomena such as motion, ecosystems, or energy through imagery and analogy. What I imagine is that engagement would increase because students feel ownership — the task becomes theirs, not the teacher’s.
A very rich discussion here!
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