I’m excited to share that our team at SMU, in partnership with the nonprofit talkSTEM and nine informal learning sites across the region, is working on a project to make these connections more visible. With support from the National Science Foundation, we’re developing and studying a mobile app that allows students to go on “math walks.” Using the app, learners can explore community sites, view short videos, pictures, or interactive overlays that highlight math in the environment, and even create their own “math stops” to share with peers.
This effort is also deeply personal to me. Growing up in Hoboken, I rarely saw math taught in ways that connected to my community or everyday life. Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed much in the Hoboken Public Schools. Too often math is still presented as abstract and disconnected. In contrast, this project treats math as something young people can discover in their own neighborhoods, while lifting up voices that are often left out of STEM. Many of our students are first-generation college students, and helping them see themselves as creators and problem-solvers is, to me, a matter of equity and justice.
For me, this project is part of a lifelong commitment to educational equity. Over the years, that commitment has meant co-founding charter and STEM schools, helping prepare new generations of teachers through the UTeach program, and working to ensure that students from all backgrounds see themselves as capable learners and leaders. These math walks are another step in that same journey. My hope is that they will not only deepen understanding but also spark curiosity—helping all young people see math as a living, creative part of the world they already know.
NSF Award#2115393, [Seeing the World through a Mathematical Lens: A Place-Based Mobile App for Creating Math Walks], [Co-PI], [Anthony Petrosino], [$2,448,189], [8/1/21-1/31/27], Intellectual Merit: [This project advances understanding of how augmented reality, participatory design, and problem-posing in informal learning environments can foster mathematical engagement, interest, and knowledge-building outside of traditional classrooms.]; Broader Impacts: [By partnering with community organizations and informal learning sites, this project will broaden access to meaningful STEM experiences for diverse youth, strengthen local learning ecosystems, and create scalable digital tools for math engagement that can be used nationwide.]; Dissemination: [10 peer reviewed journal articles to date, over 1500 school age students at informal learning sites].
Picture: August 28, 2025- CONGRATULATIONS TO theFOUR (4) NEWLY SWORN HOBOKEN FIRE FIGHTERS TODAY, KURTIS RIVERA, CHRISTIAN ROSSO, DAVID WALKER & CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
