Ethnomathematics

After my last post about ensuring that the mathematics that are been taught are directly related to a students life, I have since realised that this relates directly to Ethnomathematics.

Rosa & Orey (2011) describes ethnomathematics as the study of the cultural aspects of mathematics. It assists teachers to relate aspects of the Australian Curriculum to the individual cultures and lifestyle of the students. This enables a more enriched and meaningful experience for the students, and allows them to gain an understanding of how mathematics is relevant to their lives, both current and in the future.

By considering the cultural background of the students the teacher is able to plan engaging and relevant lessons for students. An example of this, would be a lesson on the seasons, and how/when they come about. This would include the months and years and the repetition of seasons. Although this seems like a pretty straightforward topic it would not be recommended for students in Darwin to focus solely on the 4 seasons experienced by other areas of Australia. Just as it students int he Southern areas of Australia would not relate to learning about the wet and dry seasons experienced up north. It would be recommended to ensure students understand that there are varied seasons in Australia, but the main focus of their learning is relevant to them.

Reference

Rosa, Milton, & Orey, Daniel Clark. (2011). Ethnomathematics: the cultural aspects of mathematics. Revista Latinoamericana de Etnomatematica, 4(2). 32-54