Tag Archives: #AboriginalEducation

Eglash et al (2013) evaluated two designs for technologies which support culturally responsive science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by surveying students in Boys and Girls after school programs.

1. African American Distributed Multiple Learning Styles Systems (AADMLSS) requires a login and is geared toward African American urban youth.
2. Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDT) used ethnomathematics “it is a matter of documenting indigenous math and computing concepts embedded in traditional practices, and then using simulations to “translate” to their western equivalents” (p. 639).  

The study concluded “both approaches were useful, and provided complementary coverage of culturally responsive learning” (p. 647). If children were given the choice they would choose what is familiar to them and if not trained in the tools would not use them. The researchers comment on the free availability of the resources (AADMLSS and CDST) and suggest 5 approaches when incorporating them. The one which stuck out to me is “Give children the flexibility to explore other cultures and identities” (p. 652), which I believe is important as many children do have multiple cultural backgrounds and it’s interesting to explore other cultures in a safe environment.    

I would like to delve more into the CSDT website as there were 5 simulations developed which explored the Native American culture.   

Eglash, R., Gilbert, J. E., Taylor, V., & Geier, S. R. (2013). Culturally responsive computing in urban, after-school contexts: Two approaches. Urban Education, 48(5), 629-656. doi:10.1177/0042085913499211

Although, this specifically does not focus only on Indigenous education I thought I would include it as it is an interesting watch if you have time.

Yvette D’Entremont from the University of Alberta discusses the importance of mathematics being not culturally neutral and the need for teachers to incorporate meaningful cultural elements into their practices when teaching mathematics. She discusses 4 symbols and how one could incorporate mathematical concepts;

• Basket Weaving (First Nations culture)
• The quilt
• The Pysanka (Ukrainian)
• Ceinture Flechee (French Sash)

She stresses the importance of including community members when teaching with cultural symbols to further enhance learning.

Kay Owens investigated how to improve teaching practices to enhance Indigenous students numeracy skills by using data from a case study of “a rural city on Wiradjuri country in New South Wales Australia” (p. 55) with an school Aboriginal population “below 10%” (p. 56). The school was chosen as it was part of the Stronger Smarter Learning Communities (SSLC) project set up by the Stronger Smarter Institute SSI. To provide background information the author discusses the socio-economic status of the area as well as the effects of colonization and oppression. I found it interesting the school studied within the paper was just beginning the revitalization and recognition of the Aboriginal culture and language (p. 56) as the paper was published in 2014. For the case study “over 42 were interviewed” (p. 61), these people included teachers, principals, students, parents, and community members. The study determined when teachers received leadership training and learned to incorporate the 8 way project developed by Tyson Yunkaporta (p. 55);

• Connecting through the stories that are shared;
• Picturing pathways to knowledge;
• Seeing, thinking, acting, making, and sharing without words;
• Keeping and sharing knowledge with art and objects;
• Working with lessons from land and nature;
• Putting different ideas together and creating new knowledge,
• Working from wholes to parts – watching then doing; and
• Bring new knowledge home to help family/community

they were able to change their practices and create a more positive interaction with their Aboriginal students. This 8 ways project reminded me of BCs First Peoples Principles of Learning. The study also discussed ethnomathematics and ecocultural pedagogy which was interesting and I need to research more.

Owens, Kay. “Changing the Teaching of Mathematics for Improved Indigenous Education in a Rural Australian City.” Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, vol. 18, no. 1, 2015, pp. 53-78.

I have already introduced you to the paper written by Stavros Stavrou and Dianne Miller  in module 2. This is a short but impactful Tedx Talk given by Stavros Stavrou on November 22, 2015. He discusses Antioppressive Math Education which he says the first step is to acknowledge colonization and the effects of it on Aboriginal students. Although he provides a couple specific examples within the talk the main point he emphasizes is the need for a “collaborative process between a western knowlege system and an Indigenous knowlege system” and educators finding ways to legitamize Indigenous knowledge systems within the classroom. He states this will give a voice to Aboriginal students and promote student participation within the math class.

From the University of Toronto the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) developed a website, Deepening Knowledge: Resources for and about Aboriginal Education. The website contains numerous web pages of educational resources dedicated to teaching content from a First Nations perspective. It is very easy to navigate and there is a wealth of information. I personally found the recommended films an interesting web page as it was organized in alphabetical order and there were many title but it does not appear to be up to date as some of the links did not work. The site even contained a webpage pertaining to  class/field trips, although it was focussed within the Toronto area there was information about pen pals and I would be curious to research to find out if virtual field trips to any of the places mentioned was available. The curriculum resources were organized both as subject areas and by grade levels. I focussed on the mathematics curriculum subject area which was further organized into Blogs, Lesson Plans and Math Games. I liked how math games were included as I enjoy teaching my students math games they can then play at home with their family. Within the games links an educator was not only provided with the mathematical content, rules and game play but also the history and cultural relevance and origin of the game. Although, the website does say it was updating November 21, 2018 as mentioned already there were a few links that did not work but overall there is a plethora of valuable resources educators can incorporate into their classroom teachings with minimal prep.