Culturally Responsive Mathematical Modeling: Reflections on Technology and Student Agency

This study explores how mathematical modeling tasks centered on familiar healthy food topics support student agency and mathematical reasoning, and how technology influences their engagement with modeling. Situated within a culturally responsive framework that critically examines technology, we used ethnographic and design-based research methods to design, teach, and document three modeling tasks involving proportional reasoning and data modeling in an after-school, community-based setting. Through video recordings, student artifacts, discussions, and research field notes, the researchers collaboratively reflected on the planning, facilitation, and technology integration for each task. The findings indicate that technology supported student reasoning when it was connected to task design, hands-on materials, and students’ prior reasoning, but its effectiveness depended on the task context and implementation. The study highlights the importance of collaborative decision-making between students and teachers during modeling instruction. It also advocates culturally responsive, human-centered approaches that use technology to support, rather than replace, modeling experiences. Future research should explore learning opportunities that can help educators further navigate this emerging terrain.