To understand the rich environment from which this curriculum came, imagine traveling on a snow m... more To understand the rich environment from which this curriculum came, imagine traveling on a snow machine over the frozen tundra and finding your way based on the position of the stars in the night sky. Or, in summer, paddling a sleek kayak across open waters shrouded in ...
This paper describes one aspect of a long-term collaboration between the author and a Yup'ik ... more This paper describes one aspect of a long-term collaboration between the author and a Yup'ik teachers' research group, Ciulistet, focusing on the processes and development of Yup'ik culturally based mathematics. The premise behind this work is that the Yup'ik language, culture, and worldview, particularly subsistence activities, contain mathematical concepts. These concepts include a number system that is base 20 and sub-base 5, and ways of measuring and visualizing. This has direct applications to school math. However, just as important, the project participants are increasingly realizing the potential of using their culture and language as a means to change the culture of schooling.
... behavior, bird migratory behavior, ebb and flow of tides, currents in rivers (Kawagley, D. No... more ... behavior, bird migratory behavior, ebb and flow of tides, currents in rivers (Kawagley, D. Norris-Tull, & RA Norris-Tull, 1998), and ... analytically, creatively, and practically in a cultural setting, rather remote from that of the mainstream United States can make a difference to school ...
Assimilationist models of education such as remedial and mainstreamalternative education programs... more Assimilationist models of education such as remedial and mainstreamalternative education programs have proven ineffective for Nativestudents, yet continue as the menu of academic program options and school choices for Tribal Nation communities, despite the inequities of such an education (Aguilera, 2003). Widely accepted comprehensive school reform models also undermine both the Native American Languages Act (1992; Public
Indigenous people whose way of life remains closely connected to their traditional lands are expe... more Indigenous people whose way of life remains closely connected to their traditional lands are experiencing additional existential threats to culture and language, now exacerbated by climate change. Yet, Traditional Ecological Knowledge is being recognized as a potential contributor in addressing this crisis. Five case vignettes presented in this paper illustrate the depth of resistance, resilience, and adaptation demonstrated by Indigenous people in the face of previous threats to culture and language. ural Alaska, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, the setting of the vignettes.. Though their locations, history, and customs vary, they share an underlying similarity in the urgency expressed for their Traditional Ecological Knowledge and to use it in adaptive ways that lead to sustainability. An outlier case is included, as it illustrates a different strategy that results in novel and accessible steps to combat climate change.
This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, wa... more This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, was able to identify an approach to teaching rational numbers through measuring from the everyday practices of Yup’ik Eskimo and other elders. “The beginning of everything,” as named by a Yup’ik elder, provided deep insights into how practical activities were conceptualized and accomplished by means of body proportional measuring and nonnumeric comparisons. These concepts and practices shed light on the importance of measuring as comparing and the importance of relative units of measure, and helped us imagine a way to establish an alternative learning trajectory and schoolbased curriculum that begins with the insights gained from Yup’ik and other elders. This approach may well provide teachers a way to teach aspects of elementary school mathematics in an integrative and elegant way.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2014
What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Witho... more What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Without formal tools, the Yup’ik Eskimos of Alaska used their body as a measuring device and employed ratios extensively in their daily practices. Math in a Cultural Context is developing curriculum materials based on Yup’ik Elders use of mathematics. This paper describes a hypothesised learning/teaching sequence that is grounded in real life experience and linked to the mathematics in the classroom. Activities that were trialled in classrooms at a K-12 school in interior Alaska are also reported. The achievement gap between Alaska Native (AN) students and their mainstream counterparts is of growing concern, especially in the area of mathematics. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data showed that on average, performance of AN grade 4 and grade 8 students’ performance was considerably lower than white Alaskans. Although the gap exists across all content strands, performance ...
The latest curriculum development effort of the Math in a Cultural Context, a long-term Alaskan p... more The latest curriculum development effort of the Math in a Cultural Context, a long-term Alaskan project, includes Indigenous knowledge (IK). Collaborating with Yup’ik elders, MCC has identified a powerful set of mathematical processes used in constructing everyday artefacts. The knowledge of elders provides a unique way to teach Rational Number Reasoning. Measuring the efficacy of curriculum developed from IK requires a reliable and valid assessment instrument, which captures the mathematical content and learning trajectory established by Indigenous knowledge. An appropriate assessment instrument was unavailable; hence adapting questions from other instruments was undertaken. This paper describes the process of adapting an Australian fraction assessment for use in this Alaskan context.
This Digest briefly reviews the educational effects of assimilationist schooling and later effort... more This Digest briefly reviews the educational effects of assimilationist schooling and later efforts to create schools supportive of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) self-determination. It then describes examples of tribalor community-controlled programs that use students' Native language as the language of instruction and incorporate traditional culture into the curriculum. Any such review of the literature must begin with a reminder: Indigenous communities vary in their cultural, linguistic, and geographic circumstances as well as in their education goals. Therefore, it is not possible to prescribe specific programs across such a diverse array of situations.
Ms. Sharp’s case is particularly instructive as it shows how this experienced Yup’ik teacher stee... more Ms. Sharp’s case is particularly instructive as it shows how this experienced Yup’ik teacher steeped in the traditions of her culture effectively implemented a culturally based math module. Ms. Sharp’s pedagogical creativity allowed her to authentically bring together a core academic content area, math, with Yup’ik traditions, knowledge, and ways of relating. This case shows through systematic micro-ethnography, interview data, and “insider” analysis that when Ms. Sharp used expert-apprentice modeling, joint productive activity, and cognitive apprenticeship. Her students were attentive, highly focused on the math task, and learned about symmetry, congruence, and patterns. Expert-apprentice modeling usually associated with “crafts” and usually dismissed as an ineffective classroom pedagogical tool was a key ingredient for Ms. Sharp’s success. On project outcome measures her students performed well when compared to other treatment classes that used this module and to the control class...
Culturally based instruction has long been touted as a preferred approach to improving the perfor... more Culturally based instruction has long been touted as a preferred approach to improving the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students’ academic performance. However, there has been scant research to support this conjecture, particularly when quantitative data and quasi-experimental designs are included. The results of this study show that the culturally based math curriculum, Building a Fish Rack: Investigations into Proof, Properties, Perimeter, and Area, enabled sixth grade Yup’ik students and their urban counterparts to increase their mathematical understanding of perimeter and area. The study involved one semester’s worth of data (258 students in 15 classes). The study was a strong quasi-experimental design with random assignment and the results were based on preand post-test score differences. The study involved one urban school district, Fairbanks, and four rural school districts with approximately a 97% Yup’ik population. The study showed that the diffe...
To understand the rich environment from which this curriculum came, imagine traveling on a snow m... more To understand the rich environment from which this curriculum came, imagine traveling on a snow machine over the frozen tundra and finding your way based on the position of the stars in the night sky. Or, in summer, paddling a sleek kayak across open waters shrouded in ...
This paper describes one aspect of a long-term collaboration between the author and a Yup'ik ... more This paper describes one aspect of a long-term collaboration between the author and a Yup'ik teachers' research group, Ciulistet, focusing on the processes and development of Yup'ik culturally based mathematics. The premise behind this work is that the Yup'ik language, culture, and worldview, particularly subsistence activities, contain mathematical concepts. These concepts include a number system that is base 20 and sub-base 5, and ways of measuring and visualizing. This has direct applications to school math. However, just as important, the project participants are increasingly realizing the potential of using their culture and language as a means to change the culture of schooling.
... behavior, bird migratory behavior, ebb and flow of tides, currents in rivers (Kawagley, D. No... more ... behavior, bird migratory behavior, ebb and flow of tides, currents in rivers (Kawagley, D. Norris-Tull, & RA Norris-Tull, 1998), and ... analytically, creatively, and practically in a cultural setting, rather remote from that of the mainstream United States can make a difference to school ...
Assimilationist models of education such as remedial and mainstreamalternative education programs... more Assimilationist models of education such as remedial and mainstreamalternative education programs have proven ineffective for Nativestudents, yet continue as the menu of academic program options and school choices for Tribal Nation communities, despite the inequities of such an education (Aguilera, 2003). Widely accepted comprehensive school reform models also undermine both the Native American Languages Act (1992; Public
Indigenous people whose way of life remains closely connected to their traditional lands are expe... more Indigenous people whose way of life remains closely connected to their traditional lands are experiencing additional existential threats to culture and language, now exacerbated by climate change. Yet, Traditional Ecological Knowledge is being recognized as a potential contributor in addressing this crisis. Five case vignettes presented in this paper illustrate the depth of resistance, resilience, and adaptation demonstrated by Indigenous people in the face of previous threats to culture and language. ural Alaska, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, the setting of the vignettes.. Though their locations, history, and customs vary, they share an underlying similarity in the urgency expressed for their Traditional Ecological Knowledge and to use it in adaptive ways that lead to sustainability. An outlier case is included, as it illustrates a different strategy that results in novel and accessible steps to combat climate change.
This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, wa... more This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, was able to identify an approach to teaching rational numbers through measuring from the everyday practices of Yup’ik Eskimo and other elders. “The beginning of everything,” as named by a Yup’ik elder, provided deep insights into how practical activities were conceptualized and accomplished by means of body proportional measuring and nonnumeric comparisons. These concepts and practices shed light on the importance of measuring as comparing and the importance of relative units of measure, and helped us imagine a way to establish an alternative learning trajectory and schoolbased curriculum that begins with the insights gained from Yup’ik and other elders. This approach may well provide teachers a way to teach aspects of elementary school mathematics in an integrative and elegant way.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2014
What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Witho... more What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Without formal tools, the Yup’ik Eskimos of Alaska used their body as a measuring device and employed ratios extensively in their daily practices. Math in a Cultural Context is developing curriculum materials based on Yup’ik Elders use of mathematics. This paper describes a hypothesised learning/teaching sequence that is grounded in real life experience and linked to the mathematics in the classroom. Activities that were trialled in classrooms at a K-12 school in interior Alaska are also reported. The achievement gap between Alaska Native (AN) students and their mainstream counterparts is of growing concern, especially in the area of mathematics. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data showed that on average, performance of AN grade 4 and grade 8 students’ performance was considerably lower than white Alaskans. Although the gap exists across all content strands, performance ...
The latest curriculum development effort of the Math in a Cultural Context, a long-term Alaskan p... more The latest curriculum development effort of the Math in a Cultural Context, a long-term Alaskan project, includes Indigenous knowledge (IK). Collaborating with Yup’ik elders, MCC has identified a powerful set of mathematical processes used in constructing everyday artefacts. The knowledge of elders provides a unique way to teach Rational Number Reasoning. Measuring the efficacy of curriculum developed from IK requires a reliable and valid assessment instrument, which captures the mathematical content and learning trajectory established by Indigenous knowledge. An appropriate assessment instrument was unavailable; hence adapting questions from other instruments was undertaken. This paper describes the process of adapting an Australian fraction assessment for use in this Alaskan context.
This Digest briefly reviews the educational effects of assimilationist schooling and later effort... more This Digest briefly reviews the educational effects of assimilationist schooling and later efforts to create schools supportive of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) self-determination. It then describes examples of tribalor community-controlled programs that use students' Native language as the language of instruction and incorporate traditional culture into the curriculum. Any such review of the literature must begin with a reminder: Indigenous communities vary in their cultural, linguistic, and geographic circumstances as well as in their education goals. Therefore, it is not possible to prescribe specific programs across such a diverse array of situations.
Ms. Sharp’s case is particularly instructive as it shows how this experienced Yup’ik teacher stee... more Ms. Sharp’s case is particularly instructive as it shows how this experienced Yup’ik teacher steeped in the traditions of her culture effectively implemented a culturally based math module. Ms. Sharp’s pedagogical creativity allowed her to authentically bring together a core academic content area, math, with Yup’ik traditions, knowledge, and ways of relating. This case shows through systematic micro-ethnography, interview data, and “insider” analysis that when Ms. Sharp used expert-apprentice modeling, joint productive activity, and cognitive apprenticeship. Her students were attentive, highly focused on the math task, and learned about symmetry, congruence, and patterns. Expert-apprentice modeling usually associated with “crafts” and usually dismissed as an ineffective classroom pedagogical tool was a key ingredient for Ms. Sharp’s success. On project outcome measures her students performed well when compared to other treatment classes that used this module and to the control class...
Culturally based instruction has long been touted as a preferred approach to improving the perfor... more Culturally based instruction has long been touted as a preferred approach to improving the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students’ academic performance. However, there has been scant research to support this conjecture, particularly when quantitative data and quasi-experimental designs are included. The results of this study show that the culturally based math curriculum, Building a Fish Rack: Investigations into Proof, Properties, Perimeter, and Area, enabled sixth grade Yup’ik students and their urban counterparts to increase their mathematical understanding of perimeter and area. The study involved one semester’s worth of data (258 students in 15 classes). The study was a strong quasi-experimental design with random assignment and the results were based on preand post-test score differences. The study involved one urban school district, Fairbanks, and four rural school districts with approximately a 97% Yup’ik population. The study showed that the diffe...
Uploads
Papers by Jerry Lipka