NYC area teachers have been meeting regularly over the last month to prep for the next iteration of the City Digits project, Cash City. The implementation in local high school mathematics classrooms this year is an effort to demystify the math behind pawn shop and payday loans.
Local Lotto, the first iteration of City Digits, focused on the math behind lotteries; Cash City unpacks the high risk associated with high interest loans, while building digital and data literacy among students through the use of maps and data visualizations. Through an online tool, the students as researchers are able to access their neighborhood for context. As they ask critical questions about alternative financial institutions (AFIs), they are able to analyze real data and apply relevant math to form, defend, and share their own opinions.
Our most recent teacher and partner meeting took place at Math for America, an educational initiative of the Simons Foundation. Laurie Rubel, our partner from CUNY Brooklyn, facilitated inviting teachers to take on the role of their students through interactive exercises. We literally 'got on the map' during the first half of the meeting, in this instance a giant street map of New York City, that will be one of two maps that are an integral part of the curriculum.
Viewing a NYC map at such a large scale offered a different perspective on the streets we walk everyday. We reflected on how the map didn't always align with our assumptions, such as how the subway lines in reality compare to the classic wayfinding subway map. We realized why the time between some stops takes longer than it looks like it should. Additionally, everyone agreed that Brooklyn is much bigger than they realized.
The second half of the meeting focused on testing the online map tool called Cash City. This time we went digital, conducting user testing of the interactive online mapping tool, programmed by Civic Data Design Lab Fellows Lela Preshad, JD Godchaux, and Kat Hartman. The site combines quantitative mapping, charts, and legends with students’ qualitative research, captured through images, recorded interviews, and notes. Students and teachers can geocode other items (such as images, audio interviews and notes), embedding them in the map, allowing for place-based and contextualized reflection on AFIs and their impact on neighborhoods. The teacher training ensures that functions created for the site are as intuitive as they can be. Additionally, training the teachers on the tool will allow them to help their students use it.
During the month of November we will be rolling out the curriculum with students. Expect more updates soon!