Ethnomathematics

Myron Medina presents his interests for his doctoral researchcaye caulker conch02 map birds butterfly:

My current research interest looks at how Belizean cultural artifacts (coral carvings, Mayan paintings, music etc.) can be used as mediums to embody and visualize certain mathematical patterns (e.g. symmetry, fractals). A forest school will be opening at Caye Caulker, an ecological island off the coast of Belize, that will experiment with outdoor/ecological learning. Since mathematics education in Belize is often teaching to the test, this presents an opportunity to incorporate the notion of embodied knowledge via local cultural practices within the mathematics curriculum. Since it is important to engage the senses in learning, some broad questions are: In what ways can these resources be used to teach and learn math? What would students take away from these experiences?

Terms: embodiment, visualization, ethnomathematics, cultural ecology

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