Paulus Gerdes’ article titled “On Culture, Geometrical
Thinking and Mathematics Education” that was published in ESM in 1988 discusses
the fact that mathematics is often times taught in a way that is “culture-free”
and therefore many students do not see mathematics as something useful. He focused on the culture of
Mozambique, which is located in Africa, to give examples of how the surrounding
culture can be used to teach mathematics.
One example he gave was on the axiomatic constructions of Euclidean Geometry. He looked at the rectangle axiom, and
instead of just teaching that axiom, students were asked if their parents
created rectangles in their daily life.
The students realized that their parents use their own rectangular
axioms to construct the base of a house with bamboo sticks and rope.
I found this article really interesting because I think that
in order for most students to actually have an interest in learning math, it
needs to be made more meaningful for them. After having a history of math class in my undergrad degree
and also in my masters degree, I have started using it a lot to help humanize
the subject. For example, I have a
rap on Pythagoras that I like to share with my students just to explain how a
real person created this theorem that we use. This leads into the fact that other cultures used the
Pythagorean theorem before Pythagoras’ group proved it. This then leads into some historical
drama, and we know how kids love some drama. J
Also, I am teaching a “meaning of math” class to two grade
five students right now. We have done
many things in this class but some of my favorites are: ancient Chinese multiplication,
writing in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to discuss place value, recreate the “12
Days of Christmas” song using candy for all of the gifts and seeing how much
candy we would actually get in the end, and now we are making a blueprint of
the building we have class in so that we can eventually make a 3-D model using
clay, toothpicks, and popsicle sticks.
This class has been very rewarding for both me and my students.
After reading this week's article and people posts, I feel what I am lacking in my own classroom is ethnomathematics! However, my biggest dilemma is: where do I find the time to prepare and to teach every lesson that the students can make concrete connection to? Ethnomathematics sounds like a great way, if not one of the most ideal ways to teach math. However, how practical is it when teachers are already struggling to finish teaching all of the learning outcomes prescribed by the government? I personally wish that the curriculum writers would take ethnomathematics into consideration when they are creating the curriculum documents. At the same time, instead of upholding the hierarchical tone in the mathematics textbooks, the publishers should make a conscious effort in making the textbooks more personable to the students. If we tell the students that math is all around us, we should be able to demonstrate mathematics to the students in a meaningful and useful way!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the trickiest things about ethnomathematics is implementing it in mathematics classes which have a student body with diverse cultural backgrounds.I do think that the issue of connecting mathematics to ancient cultures, art and practices/traditions is a fascinating topic and can make a great hook for the beginning of a lesson.
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