One of two keynote presentations at SIMIODE's EXPO 2025 conference, 14-16 February 2025, was entitled, "Ethical Reasoning: An Essential Component of Mathematical Modeling," given by Feryal Alayont, Grand Valley State University, Allendale MI USA; Korana Burke, University of California, Davis CA USA; Erin Griesenauer, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg FL USA; Jeremy Shaw, Oregon State University-Cascades, Bend OR USA; and Rohit Thomas, University of California, Davis CA USA, in an attempt to raise awareness of ethical reasoning in teaching mathematics.
The abstract for the keynote reads, we argue that ethical reasoning is an essential component of applying mathematical modeling in solving real-life problems, in both academic and business settings. Our mathematical answers exist in the context of a larger system and have implications on the lives of others, the planet, and future generations. However, mathematics instruction often treats the mathematical work as if it exists in a vacuum devoid of context and omits careful consideration of stakeholders, validity of data, assumptions made, and limitations of the analysis. We describe downsides to our current approach of teaching mathematical modeling without enough attention to the inherent context and propose what an accurate mathematical modeling process should instead include. We discuss strategies our group and others are using to bring ethical reasoning back into the classroom.
Further material can be found here: A General Framework for Incorporating Ethical Reasoning into Mathematical Modeling in a presentation at SIMIODE EXPO 2024 by colleagues committed to introducing ethical reasoning inti mathematics instructions. This presentation gets viewers thinking about how to engage students in ethical reasoning in the classroom through illustrations and dialogue.
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Brian Winkel
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