Abstract

Mathematics is not traditionally seen as creative, critical, collaborative and communicative. Perhaps part of the EDI issues plaguing mathematics are because people who identify as such are put off from studying mathematics. The same, however, cannot be said about data science. In two BSc programmes I have set up across two universities the cohorts have been highly diverse in many different respects. For my very diverse Data Science cohorts, diversifying and decolonising the curriculum has provided a diverse range of role models and increased community and belonging. I will talk about the approach I have taken in BSc Data Science as well as a History of Mathematics module that I am leading, and the connection with the work of a national "History for Diversity in Mathematics" network that I am involved in. I will present our DATA project, “Decolonial Approaches to Technological Agency”, a partnership between Leeds and the University of the Witwatersrand, and some of the active and experiential learning approaches that we have taken to promote engagement in learning and equity of opportunity for diverse groups of learners through hackathons (ASA Datafest) and Collaborative Online International Learning in collaboration with global partners in South Africa. I will also talk about our ongoing global collaboration on Open Educational Resources with partners in South Africa and the UK around embedding sustainability in the Mathematics curriculum, with a view to promoting diverse applications of mathematics, student skills development and authentic assessments and learning opportunities. For maths and data science programmes alike we need to balance aspects of employability and curiosity-driven, ‘education for its own sake’. I argue that this is not such a dichotomy, but rather that the skills that are needed for curiosity-driven education also make graduates the most employable: being critical, creative, independent life-long and life-wide learners that can collaborate and communicate well.