Author Archives: bhalland

Show Me Your Math: Connect Math to Our Lives and Communities

Module 2, Post 5

“Show Me Your Math: Connect Math to Our Lives and Communities” compiles the work that is a joint endeavor between St. Francis Xavier University’s Faculty of Education and Mathematics Department and local Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities. The program invites Aboriginal Students in Atlantic Canada to explore the mathematics that is evident in their own community and cultural practices. Through exploring aspects of counting, measuring, locating, designing, playing, and explaining, students discover that mathematics is all around them and is connected to many of the cultural practices in their own communities. Each year students gather for the annual math fair and celebrate the work they have done.

While this website contains samples of student SMYM projects, it also includes resources for doing culturally-based inquiry projects, research relating to decolonizing mathematics education for Indigenous students, and information about a related Math Outreach program. All of this work is dedicated to transforming the experiences of Indigenous children and youth in learning mathematics and to increase both student achievement and student affinity for mathematics.

One page on the website, Connecting Math to our Lives and Communities (CMTOL) is filled with curricular ideas that connect science to our land and current issues such as Invasive Species, Environmental Racism in Nova Scotia, The Mathematics of Food Security, Water Security, Climate Change, Soil Degradation, Soil and Social Justice, Star Stories, and Structures and Engineering, to name a few.

Another webpage includes project-based and inquiry learning through the learning activities that are linked to the land or cultural traditions. The website also includes a few years of archived student projects, such as this one: MathFishing.

I also found “Fostering Mawikinutimatimk in Research and Classroom Practice” (Lunney & Wagner, 2006) that discusses the challenges of mawikinutimatimk – learning together- as related to a mathematics classroom. The report profiles that North American aboriginals have the lowest participation of any cultural group when it comes to mathematics and highlights the importance of educators recognizing the long-term impacts that colonization has had on this segment and seeking solutions that foster higher inclusivity.

References

Lunney Borden, L. (2011, November 14). MathFishing.m4v [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Fd2OkXCdQ

Lunney, L. A. & Wagner, D. R. (2006). Fostering mawikinutimatimk in research and classroom practice. In Alatorre et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twenty Eighth Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. (pp. 505 – 507). Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. http://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings/PMENA%2028%202006%20Proceedings.pdf

Show Me Your Math. (n.d.). CMTOLC Outreach Connecting Math to Our Lives and Communities. http://showmeyourmath.ca/outreach/

Reconciling Ways of Knowing – Two Eyed Seeing and Beyond

Module 2, Post 4

Reconciling Ways of Knowing is a website with a wealth of information that is the result of Indigenous leaders and Western leaders building a relationship to share and build ways of being and knowing, with the belief that both are valid and that by joining forces together the benefits will be greater than each on their own. I came across this website as I was investigating more about Two Eyed Seeing, which has been described as “To see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and to use both of these eyes together” (Bartlett, Marshall, & Marshall, 2012, p. 335).

This website is suited for anyone wondering how to merge the divide between Western and Indigenous perspectives in being and knowing, particularly as it relates to scientific research in the environment, and this suggests that these need not be two dichotomous perspectives, but that they are in many ways compatible.

There is a total of 10 forums archived on this site:

References

Bartlett, C., Bartlett, A., & Marshall, M. (2012). Two-Eyed Seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 331 – 340. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257804329_Two-Eyed_Seeing_and_other_lessons_learned_within_a_co-learning_journey_of_bringing_together_indigenous_and_mainstream_knowledges_and_ways_of_knowing

Reconciling Ways of Knowing. (n.d.). A conversation of national and planetary significance. https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca/about

The Melding of Mathematics, Current Issues and Events, and Indigenous World Views

Module 2, Post 3

I think the APTN is a great resource for bringing an Indigenous perspective to current day issues and events, and that could be tied into my math class in various ways. What I like about this is that it brings a modern representation to the class, rather than talking about past historical events, and it is more connected to events that affect us in a more immediate way.

Possible Topics:

Mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies – Blackfoot in Alberta look to educate community members on proposed coal mine
Sharing Covid-19 Vaccines – Blackfeet Nation offers surplus vaccines to Canadian neighbors | APTN News
Comparing the Mi’kmaw Fishing to Commercialized Industry Fishing – Mi’kmaw Fishing Rights
Women in Wrestling: – A Look at the Women’s Wrestling at NAIG 2017
Indigenous Sport – Bringing us back to tradition and spirit’: A look at Indigenous Sport
International Beekeeping – 13 year old beekeeper from Hiawatha First Nation heading to Russia for competition
Cooking Competitions – First Nations baker makes her way to the top three of The Great Canadian Baking Show | InFocus
Traditional Attire and Politics – The ribbon skirt that made political history | InFocus

References

APTN News. (2016, October 4). About APTN News. https://www.youtube.com/c/APTNNews/about

Maskwacis Youth Perceptions of Strength ad Resilience: A Photovoice Project

Module 2, Post 2

Maskwacis Youth Perceptions of Strength and Resilience: A Photovoice Project

This video summarizes the positive impact that a strength-based project delivered to an Indigenous community. What I liked about this project is that it provided a focus on the positive aspects of a community, rather than revisiting what are more negative historical events. I can see the power of being present and positive in activities and actions and will use this article as a reminder to create opportunities for positive growth for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners by focusing on strengths and as we live in the present day and build a future together.

References

PolicyWise for Children & Families. (2017, January 20). Melissa Tremblay: Maskwacis youth perceptions of strength and resilience: A photovoice project [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4lvA61uDvs

Yes, I am Aboriginal and I Enjoy Mathematics

Module 2, Post 1

Dr. Florence Glanfield is currently Vice-Provost of Indigenous Programming and Research and a Professor of Mathematics Education, at the University of Alberta. She was a guest contributor for “Equity Matters” and shared her article “Yes, I am Aboriginal and I Enjoy Mathematics”. I really enjoyed this guest blog; it teaches not to stereotype using her own personal story. I definitely want to use her story in my classroom!

Dr. Glanfield can serve as a positive role model for achievement in mathematics, academia, and reconciliation. Here is a Dr. Glanfield’s bio from a spring 2020 PD session addressing math and science teachers and leaders in education.

References

Glandfield, F. (2011, June 14). Yes I am Aboriginal and I enjoy mathematics. Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.. https://www.ideas-idees.ca/blog/truth-about-stories-yes-i-am-aboriginal-and-i-enjoy-mathematics

Learning Network. (2021, June 14) IO20-19 Infusing Indigenous ways of learning in high school mathematics and sciences. https://www.learning-network.org/index.php/program/pdf/4646

Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in K-12 Curriculum

Module 1 Post 5

This BC government site documents implicit and explicit links between Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives and specific curricular (or cross-curricular) areas according to B.C.’s redesigned curriculum, and the links can be applied to other provincial curriculums similarly. It also links the connection to the Math First Peoples Teacher Resource Guide, which provides specific activities with developed elements to support the integration of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (n.d.) Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in K-12 Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/indigenous-education-resources/indigenous-knowledge-and-perspectives-k-12-curriculum

First Nations Education Steering Committee. (2020). Math First Peoples. http://www.fnesc.ca/math-first-peoples/

Math Catcher Outreach Program and Resources

Module 1, Post 4

This website promotes math and science to elementary and high school students with a focus on story-telling and hands-on activities. The Math Catcher program is based in BC and was inspired over a decade ago to help improve the math completion rates of Indigenous learners. The program offers teacher training workshops, school visits, student summer camps, and instructional activities. There is an excellent collection of video stories that follow the antics of a 5-year-old boy, Small Number, and his mathematically themed adventures – and they have been translated into different Aboriginal languages also. Although the site suggests targeting an audience up to grade 12, the materials it offers are primarily elementary in nature. The Summer Math Camp Program appears to have ended in 2018 – it hosted grade 9 – 11 Aboriginal students in math and science day camps at SFU.

Math Catcher: Mathematics Through Aboriginal Storytellling. (n.d.). Home. http://mathcatcher.irmacs.sfu.ca/

Indigenizing Curriculum and Instruction

Module 1, Post 3

The Aboriginal Perspectives website contains information to help teacher infuse their instruction with traditional aboriginal perspectives. It includes 7 different lessons each consisting of several smaller video segments, featuring aboriginal role models that give interviews about their careers, education, and a bit about them as a person, plus demonstrations of traditional activities such as tipi building, birch bark biting, and counting in Cree. The site includes materials for 35 different math activities (grades 4 & 6) from delivered workshops, along with 13 different Aboriginal games and a shortlist of references.

Aboriginal Perspectives. (n.d.). Introduction. http://aboriginalperspectives.uregina.ca/introduction.shtml

Indigenous History From an Indigenous Perspective

Module 1, Post 2

The is an online professional learning community formed between the First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario (FNMIEAO), and the Mathematics Knowledge Network. Their goal is to promote Indigenous education in Ontario for the Indigenous community and all learners in education.

There is a General Webinar Section that has 17 webinars, all a bit over an hour, presenting such topics as the colonization of North America, oppression of Indigenous people, the Truth and Reconciliation Project, and many others. It is hosted by members of the Indigenous community and is an authentic self-representation of their Indigenous experiences and issues.

First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario. (n.d.). General FNMIEAO Webinars [Video]. YouTube http://www.fnmieao.com/events/

Advancing STEM Knowledge in an Indigenous Professional Learning Community

Module 1, Post 1

The is an online professional learning community formed between the First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario (FNMIEAO), and the Mathematics Knowledge Network. Their goal is to promote Indigenous Knowledge systems in the context of mathematics, science technology engineering & mathematics (STEM) and advance Indigenous education in Ontario for Indigenous community and all learners in education.

“We Come From the Stars” is a 6-part webinar series. Each segment is approximately 1.5 hrs. It is a community of elders gathering and sharing their Indigenous traditions, stories, and knowledge. This is an interesting example of how an Indigenous community can create connection in a digital space.

“Indigenous Knowledge & Mathematics Community of Practice” is a collection of 5 videos, each approximately 5 minutes long, demonstrating the integration of math concepts through Indigenous culture and traditions (drumming, building a lodge, and medicine walk).

First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario. (2021, May 28). Revitalizing Star Knowledge Webinars. http://www.fnmieao.com/initiatives/

First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario. (2021, May 28). Indigenous Knowledge & Mathematics Community of Practice (Exploring Math Through the Construction of a Lodge Part 1) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHGi8YXqS7w&list=PLC-h5KFwALU2nI4lL7gu4xRjSPfDBiX8W&index=2&t=5s