Indigenous Culture-Based School Mathematics in Action: Part I: Professional Development for Creating Teaching Materials

This first of a pair of articles describes a professional development project that prepared four non-Indigenous mathematics teachers (Grades 5-12) to implement Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC, 2016) notion of reconciliation: cross-cultural respect through mutual understanding. The researchers collaboratively mentored the teachers to enhance their mathematics teaching with Indigenous mathematizing3. The teachers’ focus was on developing and revising lesson plans for other teachers to teach. This process explicitly and implicitly revealed precise supports that need to be in place for a teacher to succeed at innovating with this Indigenous culture-based school mathematics (ICBSM). Part I is a template for scaling up the development of much needed Indigenous resources for mathematics teachers. Part II reports on the research results of this year-long research project

Indigenous Culture-Based School Mathematics in Action Part II: The Study’s Results: What Support Do Teachers Need?

This second part of two related articles reports the answers to the research question: What precise supports must be in place for Grades 5 to 12 teachers to enhance their mathematics classes in a sustainable way with Indigenous mathematizing and Indigenous worldview perspectives? In addition to various logistical supports, two other types of supports were identified: supports for learning and unlearning ways of perceiving the world generally and perceiving Western mathematics specifically. These needed supports came to light when we mentored the teachers. On the one hand, the co-researching teachers learned, or had already learned: (a) the plurality of mathematical systems; (b) the perspective of Western mathematics as a human endeavor along with its values, ideologies, and definitions; (c) the mere inclusion of Indigenous mathematizing in a lesson is not enough; and (d) the goal of two-eyed seeing. On the other hand, the co-researching teachers unlearned, or had already unlearned: (a) pure mathematics’ claim to be value-free, (b) all students have a predilection to excel at mathematics, and (c) subtle appropriation committed by many mathematics educators as if it were common sense to do it

General Education Course in Intuitive Quantum Physics

This project improves student conceptual and epistemological knowledge in the sciences while developing a template for formative assessment in a general education course at the University of Maine. A general education course in Intuitive Quantum Physics is being created in which non-science students learn quantum physics through simple observations, basic logical reasoning, and graphical analysis. Materials from three proven curricula are being adapted to include explicit discussions of epistemological issues. The three curricula (developed in part with NSF funding) that are being adapted to create the Intuitive Quantum Physics course include Activity-Based Tutorials in wave mechanics, New Model Course in Applied Quantum Physics, and materials from Tutorials in Introductory Physics. Through these experiences, students become aware of their thinking and why they can believe seemingly counter-intuitive ideas. Students leave the course with deeper understanding of the process of science, confidence in their capacity for seemingly difficult and counter-intuitive physics, and deeper conceptual knowledge of modern physics. Results from the course are being shared at the university, state, and national levels

Introduction to the fundamentals of chemistry

This thesis designs a curriculum to fulfill the charter of the Community college in providing an opportunity for an individual student whether traditional or non-traditional to prepare to become more proficient in chemical understanding and be able to apply the concepts and knowledge taught to a career or advanced study. The curriculum should benefit those individuals who either lack or have a poor background in chemistry and strengthen their reasoning ability. This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of textbooks currently being published for introductory chemistry. Texts reviewed were readily found on library shelves and supplied through major distributors; chemical journals were also included in the review. The curricula that this project presents is aimed toward a first semester freshman college level chemistry class. The topics to be discussed and compared in this curricula include a broad overview of science, chemistry, the five subfields of chemistry, measurement, matter, energy, atomic structure, the periodic table, inorganic and organic nomenclature, balancing of equations, stoichiometry, the states of matter, an introduction to organic classification and reaction mechanisms, and biochemistry

“This is our life. We can’t drive home.” An Analysis of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy as Perceived by Elementary Teachers, Students and Families in an Urban Charter School

As schools have become more diverse ethnically and linguistically, the likelihood of cultural mismatches among students, families, and teachers has increased (Frank, 1999). Culturally relevant pedagogy has at its core the understanding that incorporating students‘ culture into the practices of the school and the classroom through culturally relevant curriculum is likely to improve student cooperation, inspire a greater understanding of the educational program, and increase academic outcomes (Brown, 2004). These pedagogies have the potential to be a vital tool toward closing the achievement gap, yet the practices associated with them are in danger of meeting the same fate as multicultural education. A lack of knowledge about the theory, practice, and implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy has led to ineffective attempts to meet the needs of students most at risk (White-Clark, 2005). Using the five themes of Critical Race Theory (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001) as the theoretical framework, the research examined how teachers perceive and implement culturally relevant pedagogy, and how students and their families perceive and evaluate these practices. This research conducted at a inner city, charter elementary school was grounded on Ladson-Billings‘ work on culturally relevant pedagogy and the three concepts of knowledge that she identified that teachers must bring to the classroom and impart to their students: a) Academic achievement, b) Cultural competence, and c) Sociopolitical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 2001). The educational significance of this study resides in an analysis of its potential to influence teaching practices in many existing classroom settings that have an ethnically diverse population of students. On a micro level, through the use of catalytic validity and ongoing dialogue with the participants, the potential arose for members of the school community to have greater input in the structuring of their children‘s education. As members of the school community engage in future decisions regarding culturally relevant strategies, these research findings offer them an informed and critical perspective to work from

Breaking Boundaries in Computing in Undergraduate Courses

An important question in undergraduate curricula is that of incorporating computing into STEM courses for majors and non-majors alike. What does it mean to teach “computing” in this context? What are some of the benefits and challenges for students and instructors in such courses? This paper contributes to this important dialog by describing three undergraduate courses that have been developed and taught at Harvey Mudd College and Loyola Marymount University. Each case study describes the course objectives, implementation challenges, and assessments

Exploring The Connections Among Number Sense, Mental Computation Performance, And The Written Computation Performance Of Elementary Preservice School Teachers

The purpose of this study is to a) explore connections among number sense, mental computation performance and the written computation performance of elementary preservice school teachers; and b) explore the correlation among mental computation skills, computation skills, effect issues and number sense. The sample was composed of students in six intact entry?level mathematics sections of a course populated by preservice elementary school teachers. One hundred fifty-five participants from these six classes completed data collection tasks during the Spring 2002 semester for the study. Regression analyses were used to investigate the correlation of written computation skills, mental computation skills, and affective domain with regard to number sense. Three of these subscales of Conference Learning Mathematics, Mathematics Anxiety, Effectance Motivation of Mathematics, Mental Computation Test score, and Written Computation Test score were found to positive significantly correlate with Number Sense Test score success at the a= 0.001 level. Overall, the six independent variables considered in this study accounted for 57.1% of the variation in Number Sense Test score, with Mental Computation Test, and Written Computation Test having the strongest effects

MountainRise, Volume 7, Number 3

Volume 7, Number 3 (2012). MountainRise, an open, peer-reviewed, international electronic journal, was published by the Coulter Faculty Commons for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Western Carolina University. Originating in the ancient mountains of western North Carolina, MountainRise served as an international vehicle for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL). MountainRise applied insightful scholarly methodologies to the processes of teaching and learning. The aim of the journal was to foster a higher education culture that embraced innovation in teaching and learning