Embodied Mathematical Imagination and Cognition (EMIC) Research Colloquium

As Figure 1 and Table 1 shows, several activities in and beyond PME-NA have emerged to connect scholars and provide resources, such as www.embodiedmathematics.com, our web portal. Two NSF-funded workshops for K-16 researchers and instructors grew from this: "The

Future of Embodied Design for Mathematical Imagination and Cognition" (May 20-22, 2019); and "EMIC: Professional Development for Undergraduate Mathematics Instructors" (October, 2021). An edited book is planned for the "Research in Mathematics Education" Series as is a third NSF sponsored workshop. As the EMIC group matures, we are broadening the set of organizers to represent a range of institutions, perspectives, and applications. This enriches the colloquium experience and the long-term viability of the community. Mitchell Nathan (U. Wisconsin) will be this year's coordinator, with organizers: Hortensia Soto (Colorado State University), Erin Ottmar and Avery Harrison Closser (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Janet Walkoe (University of Maryland, College Park), and Dor Abrahamson (Berkeley).

EMIC 2021: Embodiment in Mathematics for Inclusion Our 2021 theme is embodiment is an effective way to promote inclusive mathematics education research and practices

. This past year, members of the EMIC community conducted two online EMIC workshops to disseminate best practices to teachers and parents during the COVID pandemic. We will explore these topics with participants to explore what the research says about how embodiment facilitates grounded and embodied learning and collaboration, instruction and assessment. This includes how everyday household objects and activities, such as games, crafts, cooking, etc. can foster grounded mathematics learning. We will also identify ways that mathematics education is impaired with the loss of co-located, in-person interactions. To demonstrate additional growth, we will join the Mathematical Play WG on Day 3, building upon the online joint-gathering for the 2020 PME-NA (held June, 2021). On Day 1 , we will introduce the aims of EMIC, present our past progress, and discuss the theme for PME-NA 2021 of "productive struggle." As is customary with EMIC, we will anchor this to hands-on and whole-body mathematical activities (e.g., making human-scale polyhedra). Participants will collaborate in small groups to identify how our bodies support mathematical reasoning and communication. Groups will reflect on inclusive activity designs across grade levels and math topics (based on who attends). Organizers will relate these to the 4 EMIC themes: Grounding, emergence, affect, and multimodality. On Day 2 , we will explore mathematical reasoning when physical and embodied resources are unavailable. Teachers may draw from their experience with distanced and remote learning in the past year. Reflections will center on accommodations to foster grounded learning, as well as the types of reasoning and assessment that are unavailable to learners and teachers. On

Day 3 , EMIC will meet with the Mathematical Play WG to consider overlapping interests and questions. The organizers of both will also discuss aims of a joint conference proposal to NSF that is currently under review. The session will include small activity groups with Math Play participants who want to think about their work as embodied and EMIC participants who want to think of their work as math play opportunities. After, we will facilitate an open discussion that reviews Days 1 and 2, considers how our aims overlap, proposes ways to enhance future PME-NA conferences, as well as the broader ways that embodiment, imaginative thinking, and play can be used to promote inclusivity. We will conclude by discussing continued engagement and dissemination opportunities available with both communities.