Pedagogy of Risk: Why and How Should We Teach Risk in High School Math Classes?

Abstract

IntroductionRisk as a concept permeates all aspects of our society, it appears in every activity we do as humans and it shows in diverse disciplines such as mathematics, physics, engineering, sociology, and psychology. Yet, despite its importance, it is rarely included in school mathematics. In this article, I explore teaching risk in the context of high school mathematics.There is a consensus amongst experts that most people are unable to adequately interpret and communicate risk (Kahneman, Slovic, and Tversky, 1982; Rothman, Montori, Cherrington, A., & Pigone, 2008). The problem of improving understanding of risk has been addressed in the specific context of public health and financial counselling, yet it has only begun to be explored within educational research (Pratt et al., 2011). Despite a recognized and urgent need for risk education, there is a lack of agreement on its definition. The concept of risk exists at the intersection of many related fields-mathematical, health, statistical, probability, scientific, and financial, among others. In this study, I will situate risk within the fields of statistical and probability literacy as these fields focus on uncertainty and chance, both important elements of risk-based reasoning. Most current approaches to literacy recognize it as more than a minimal subset of content knowledge in a particular field (see, for example. Gal, 2004a). Further, the definition of literacy has been expanded to include desired beliefs, habits of mind, or attitudes, as well as a general awareness and a critical perspective (Gal, 2004a, p. 48). Consistent with Gal's (2004a, 2004b, 2005) research on statistical and probability literacy, I define pedagogy of risk to include knowledge (e.g., probability content knowledge) and dispositional elements (e.g., beliefs and attitudes about risk) as I examine its place within the secondary mathematics curriculum.Researchers and policy makers have recognized the need for education about risk (Gigerenzer, 2002; Kolsto, 2001; Levinson, R., Kent, P., Pratt, D., Kapadia, R., & Yogui, C., 2012; Pratt et al., 2011). Pratt et al. (2011) provide examples from the UK curricular documents which call for teachers to teach probability through situations involving risk. In the context of the Ontario secondary school curriculum, the concept of risk can be found in multiple subject areas, including science (e.g., students are expected to learn to analyze risk of introducing particular technology to ecosystems), physical and health education (e.g., risk involved in participation in a physical activity), and family studies (e.g., risk of contamination in food) (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2011). Given that understanding of risk includes a strong quantitative component, the mathematics classroom is an appropriate setting for the exploration of its pedagogy. However, in Ontario, mathematics curriculum documents do not focus on risk. Moreover, throughout the secondary mathematics curriculum, there are limited mentions of risk; these fall within the context of financial mathematics as well as the promotion of students' risk taking which is considered necessary to become successful problem solvers (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005, p. 24). The exploration of the pedagogy of risk has begun only recently. The most comprehensive research in pedagogy of risk was done by the researcher involved in the Institute of Education's TURS Project (Promoting Teachers' Understanding of Risk in Socio-scientific Issues). The research, which involved in-service teachers, problematized risk education as the interplay of mathematical knowledge, beliefs, context, and content knowledge.Despite calls for teaching risk in the classroom, and despite the explorations by the TURS research group, there remains a lack of research in the mathematics classroom setting and involving students. The purpose of this study is to address the lack of research by exploring the ways in which risk could be taught within the mathematics classroom. …