TODOS Podcast · TODOS Mathematics for ALL

S4E6: Asian Math Immigrant Identities with Jiyeong Yi

·1 hr 5 min·5 clips

Jiyeong says visa struggles were worse than battling stage-three skin cancer during her PhD.

Dr. Jiyeong Yi, a first-generation Korean immigrant and associate professor of mathematics education at Iowa State University, joins hosts Dr. Theodore Hsiao and Sherry Kaku. This episode explores her personal journey and professional research at the intersection of Asian American identity, immigration, and math education. Jiyeong explains she long identified as Korean, not Asian American, a perspective she says is common among first-generation immigrants. She references Stacy Lee's 1990s dissertation work, which found Korean American students were unique in identifying with their ethnic nationality first. Jiyeong moved to the U.S. at age 29 with minimal English and a four-year-old son, initially planning to earn a teaching credential in California. Her first research experience came through Dr. Ruth Ahn's "Teacher Radically Enhancing Education" project, which used Bob Moses' Algebra Project framework with emergent bilingual students. Jiyeong pursued a PhD at the University of Missouri while battling stage-three skin cancer, noting the stress of visa issues often felt greater than her health crisis. A surprising insight is her claim that having cancer was less stressful than the perpetual uncertainty of maintaining legal immigration status. She describes the immense pressure of completing both a master's and PhD within a four-year visa guarantee while undergoing chemotherapy. Jiyeong co-authored the article "Rethinking Anti-Asian Racism in Mathematics Education," which was motivated by witnessing anti-Asian hate during the pandemic and her son's experiences. She recounts how her son was once excluded from a social justice program because it was designated only for Black and Brown students, highlighting the invisibility of Asian Americans. Jiyeong started a Parents' Book Club for first-generation Korean immigrants to discuss children's books about diversity and racism, leading to the creation of two bilingual storybooks published by ISU Press. She notes that in a presentation to dozens of Korean school teachers, only one was familiar with the model minority myth. Jiyeong argues that if first-generation immigrants learn about systemic racism, their understanding could transform their advocacy for their children. Her early teaching struggles involved memorizing scripts to teach math in English, an experience that directly informed her research on supporting bilingual learners. The conversation is personal, reflective, and educational, weaving narrative storytelling with academic concepts. Listeners interested in immigrant narratives, Asian American identity formation, and socially just mathematics education will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a purely technical discussion of math pedagogy might find the focus on personal and racial identity less relevant.

As heard by us

A patient, personal look at Asian American visibility inside math education.

The episode centers on Asian American identity shaped by migration, family, and math education. Dr. Yi speaks from the perspective of a first-generation immigrant from South Korea, while the hosts keep circling the show's themes of invisibility and hyper visibility.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a math-education conversation grounded in Asian American family experience, start here.

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