During the pandemic, I did many things that I had always said I would never do. One of them being we homeschooled our two kids because my husband had a major health incident. I found myself working full-time primarily online, trying to work on a dissertation, and homeschooling 5th and 7th-graders. I realized fairly quickly that I was going to need to create projects and assignments that were cross-curricular in nature. I decided to start the year out with a conversation about what it means to be a mathematician. My kids’ school-based experiences with math were very different from those we try to foster at home. I also wanted to begin with a small research writing experience during literacy time. We had discussions about what being a mathematician really was based on reading the many mathematician biographies I had at home. We used the mathematics timeline by Mathigon to explore early examples of mathematics and learn more about famous mathematicians. Ultimately, I had them pick a mathematician and do a deeper dive into the life and times of that mathematician, the math he/she studied, and the personal characteristics he/she exhibited, which helped them in his/her studies.
My own research into math anxiety means that I have spent time developing how we can explore our math experiences (see mathographies). I am fortunate enough to have some friends who are also working in the area of building positive math identities. My friend Liesel McConchie recently published Building a Positive Math Identity: A Brain-Science Approach, which is amazing if you are looking for a good read (full disclosure I was an early reader). She recently worked with an illustrator on this video, which I also love using: Building a Positive Math Identity.
I have created a list of some of my favorite math biography books. I will be adding to and updating this list as I find new resources, so please subscribe to this website. Are there any books that I am missing? Leave me a comment and let me know!