Topic Group

Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) has developed a new topic group, Mathematics in Prison (MiP).

The group was formed by ALM Trustee Catherine Byrne in 2021 in connection with a virtual seminar on the theme by Linda Ahl in the 2020-2021 virtual seminar series.

For more information, please, contact the following e-mail-address: tg-mathsinprisons {at} alm-online.net

ALM Virtual Seminar on Maths in Prison, 6th February 2023

You are invited to join us for the first ALM Virtual Seminar in 2023 on Maths in Prison, on 6th February at 19.00 London time. There will be three presentations on Maths education in prison, followed by a discussion using padlet. Speakers are from Europe, USA and Australia.

Time zones: US (West Coast, 11.00), UK ( London, 19.00), Tasmania ( Hobart, 6.00 Feb 7th)

ALM has set up a topic group on Maths in Prison and it welcomes researchers and practitioners interested in Maths education in the secure estate, prisons and correctional institutions.

The speakers are:

  • Erik van Haren and Rosa Alberto – University of Utrecht
  • Sarah Howe – Maths teacher in Australian prison
  • Tatiana Harrison – Credentialed teacher at the local youth detention facility and community school (expelled/excluded) classrooms in California.

The speakers are:

  • Erik van Haren and Rosa Alberto – University of Utrecht
  • Sarah Howe – Maths teacher in Australian prison
  • Tatiana Harrison – Credentialed teacher at the local youth detention facility and community school (expelled/excluded) classrooms in California.

 

Abstract – Erik van Haren and Rosa Alberto – Erasmus Project on Maths in Prison
In the Erasmus+ project “Math in Prison” the applied research center HU (the Netherlands) and the prison institute Plock (Poland) work together to create tools to enhance the numeracy abilities and attitudes of student-prisoners. In this session we share experiences and results of a 15-unit course that was taught to a class of 15 students. We discuss students’ engagements, changes in numeracy abilities and attitudes and workability of the material.
Bio – Erik van HarenErik van Haren, M.Ed, works within the Mathematical and Analytical Ability of Professionals research group. He conducts research into the psychology that promotes learning and shares his passion about ‘Math joy’, motivation, mindset and activating work form during lectures and workshops. During his more than 20 years as a first-grade math teacher, he immersed himself in self-discovery learning and mathematical thinking. He is the founder of Mathplay learning mathematics playfully and author of ‘Math joy, improve your mindset by daring, doing and understanding’.

Bio – Rosa Alberto

Rosa Alberto is a researcher in the lectorate of Mathematical and Analytical Competences of Professionals at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in The Netherlands. Rosa Alberto’s interests and experiences focus on the learning of people with a particular interest for learning mathematics. Within the lectorate she now – at a national and European level – works on awareness and tools for improving people’s numeracy skills, an essential but underexposed basic skill in 21st-century societies.

Abstract – Sara Howe

Personal reflection on what makes maths education in prison different to other TasTAFE campuses.  The emphasis is on engaging a typically disengaged cohort with complex needs, and a trauma-informed approach.

Bio – Sarah Howe

Sarah is a maths and numeracy teacher for TasTAFE at Risdon Prison in Tasmania, Australia. Sarah started working for TAFE (post-secondary Technical and Further Education) in 2003 and began delivering once-weekly classes in Risdon Prison the following year. Since then, the prison classes increased, and she has been based full-time at the prison since 2016. Sarah, and the teaching team at Risdon Prison, are passionate about delivering personalised, relevant, and engaging education with a trauma-informed practice approach.

Abstract – Tatiana Harrison

This topic explores how Funds of Knowledge (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005) and Funds of Identity (Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014) theory could be authentically applied in carceral settings through crosslinguistic pedagogies that develop content area, specifically mathematical, literacy. Specifically, our nascent research suggests that crosslinguistic innovations, like translanguaging (Cenoz & Gorter, 2020), can not only scaffold content area language, but also can act as bulwarks against the production of classroom affective filters that not only lower motivation and engagement, but also adversely affect wellbeing.

Bio – Tatiana Harrison

Tatiana Harrison received her doctorate in Educational Leadership at San Francisco State University in California, USA. Her dissertation was about teaching math in carceral settings using the Funds of Knowledge approach. She is a credentialed teacher at the local youth detention facility and community school (expelled/excluded) classrooms, where she has been working for 15 years.