2025 Mathematics Education Colloquium February 20th
Please join us at the Mathematics Education Colloquium on Thursday, February 20th
from 1:00-2:30 pm in B243 Wells Hall and on Zoom. Dr. Sandra Zuñiga-Ruiz, Assistant Professor at San José State University, will be presenting Math, Dignity and the Pursuit of Happyness: Exploring the Entanglements of Math and
Justice towards Collective Community-centered Futures.
If you are atttending virtually, please see the zoom link and passcode in the Colloquium flyer posted on our Mathematics Education Colloquium page.
Abstract:
In recent decades, the field of mathematics education has made immense strides in centering justice in our K-12 and teacher education math classrooms (Gutierrez, 2013; McKinney de Royston & Sengupta-Irving, 2019; Martin, 2009). Today more than ever, these efforts need to be fostered and expanded in education. In this talk, I will share a reframing of my work towards what I conceptualize as collective community-centered futures that move beyond narrow forms of teaching and learning and rather center dignity and pursuit of happyness in mathematics. I will present work from a community-centered project that aimed to create a space of affirmation for preservice women of color. I will also share how such work has the potential to bridge theory and practice by presenting work done in my teacher education courses. These cases showcase the entanglements of people’s complex personhoods and non-linearity of justice-oriented work. Finally, we will conclude with an opportunity to collectively co-imagine how to continue to foster mathematical dignity and the pursuit of happyness in our local communities.
Bio:
Sandra Zuñiga Ruiz is an Assistant Professor of K-12 Emancipatory Education in the Teacher Education Department at San José State University. Drawing from her experiences, Chicana/Latina feminist perspectives and critical approaches to learning, Sandra's research work aims to understand how teachers of color develop understandings about race and justice with and of mathematics. Such work is motivated with the understanding that teachers of color need communities of care and sustenance to continue in their ongoing journey of becoming justice-oriented mathematics teachers. She recently received the 2025 Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Dissertation Award and was recognized as a 2024 ISLS Emerging Scholar. Her work is inspired by two tiny humans that call her mamá and her commitment to honor the hopes and dreams of immigrants who come to the US for a better life.
The Program in Mathematics Education sponsors this event.
