“A creative approach” to teaching mathematics: case study integrating literacy and social justice mathematics using justice-centered children’s picturebooks

Purpose This paper aims to report on an exploratory case study of how five teacher candidates in a mathematics methods course engaged the multicultural bilingual picturebook Todos Iguales / All Equal: Un corrido de Lemon Grove / A Ballad of Lemon Grove (Hale, 2019) to plan and implement mathematics lessons integrating literacy practices and social justice standards. Design/methodology/approach As part of this assignment, teacher candidates engaged in activities to inform their selection of the picturebook, planned and implemented their lessons in their student teaching placements and completed written reflections after implementation. The produced artifacts were analyzed, noting the multiple ways one picturebook could be engaged to address multiple mathematics concepts, social justice standards and critical literacy discourse. Findings Across the five lessons that spanned fifth through eighth grade, two themes emerged. First, the picturebook was engaged as a shared contextual anchor for mathematical activity. Second, most lessons exhibited shifts toward developing cultural competence for students through mathematical learning. Originality/value While teacher candidates noted productive shifts in their understanding of the benefits of integrating literacy practices to address social justice issues through mathematics, tensions persisted that highlight the negotiations present in navigating complex and competing priorities of the classroom contexts.