ab ed2009

Aboriginal Education: Everyone’s Business Conference 8 - 9 October 2009 Caty Morris [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

How long is a piece of string...?

What can you do that’s mathematical with your length of string?

Emu making a nest.

Mathematics in stories

The Adnyamathanha People, Aboriginal People of the Flinders Ranges Aboriginal Studies 8-12

Emu laying eggs.


Emu sitting on the eggs.


Emu eggs.


Emu standing up in fright.


Nest of eggs left by frightened emu.


Young chicks leaving the nest.


Chicks being taken for a walk by the male emu.


Men and dogs chase the emu.


The dead emu.


Fat in the body of the emu.


Fat in the tail of the emu.


15

In 1 minute only tell your partner about a success story in teaching mathematics with Aboriginal learners

16

privilege quality of rela0onships between individuals as more important than the quan0ty of things learning socio-‐cultural Aboriginal English and code-‐switch use visual / imagery for learning bring to the classroom different ways of learning / knowing

What do we know?

17

That mathema0cs should be developed solidly and taught in a sequen0al and systema0c way

That it is applied learning and connected to the Real World and is useful

That the language of mathema0cs is explicitly taught as well as the concepts

That learners can be numerate but not strong mathema0cal thinkers

That the teaching of mathema0cs should be culturally inclusive/responsive (Watson et al, 2006)

That there are different ways of doing and knowing

18

How did you do it?

57 + 38

1 point = 3 months

21

• = The numerate student

Scott 1999

+ What goes on in teachers’ heads

Perso 2003

Professional judgement

FSIM 2005

Some models to consider

It’s like playing sport.

Mathematics is the training and coaching and practice you have during the week and the numeracy is when you play the game on Saturdays.

Maths300 participants, 2003

Numeracy is about the ‘Maths we need’. Numeracy is a cultural construct in that unless the learned mathematics is ‘practised it is not necessarily retained as a skill.’

For a child to be numerate they must have the disposition to draw on mathematics…nurture the d i spos i t i on needed to d raw on mathematical skills to gain confidence in risk-taking and choosing mathematics models with which to solve problems across a range of contexts.

Perso, 2003

Crossing the River

Three adults and two children want to cross a

river. The small boat will only take one adult, OR

one or two children. Everyone can row the boat!

How many crossing will be needed for everyone

to get to the other side?

Rich mathematical tasks

What was educational or interesting about this task? How can it be adapted to suit older / younger age groups? How would you expect different age groups to represent the mathematics? How can we create valuable mathematical experiences for Aboriginal learners?

The mathematics classroom

deep learning that is mathematical, social and linguistic use of home language where students can negotiate complex ideas with their peers in their home language enables students to reduce cognitive load created by translation of basic language and thus free up cognitive space for the mathematical learning (Zevenbergen &

Niesche, 2008) collaboration in learning (sense of community) emotional, aesthetic and personal responses to mathematics allow learners to intuit (follow their intuition) ‘aha’ moments seek and see rich connections between mathematics strands, across disciplines and with real life roles within group that develop different ways of thinking

(Numeracy Circles incorporating Mu Dictionary; assessment for learning, of learning

Group work and rich mathematical tasks

Why Interactive Numeracies?

There is currently very little recognition given to numeracies in Indigenous communities within our curriculum and pedagogy.

To identify community numeracies and develop a curriculum resource which can be used in the classroom with Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to support best numeracy practice in teaching and learning.

To make links between the community and the classroom.

Questions…1. What are numeracies in the community and where, when,

how, why and by whom are they used?

• In what contexts and situations are they used? What mathematics are built into them?

• What choices or options are made to represent numeracies, to understand numeracies?

1. How do people choose to use mathematics for particular purposes?

• How are numerate decisions made?

• What determines the decisions that are made about numeracies and how mathematics is implemented?

• What affects decision-making?

What are we doing…

Taking MATHEMATICAL SKILLS, CONCEPTS and LANGUAGE and reinforcing them within familiar contexts

Looking at the numeracies, taking the CONTEXTS and SITUATIONS and using them in the classroom to teach maths

Through the tasks, enabling access to NUMERATE DISCOURSE and NUMERATE THINKING

The communities

Recognised the diversity of numeracies in a diversity of communities (eg Coober Pedy, Raukkan, Point Pearce, Port Augusta, Adelaide, West Coast…)

Used a few snapshots or examples that were common between them.

Only one example of how community numeracies can be applied in the classroom.

havin

g fun

sport

employment

leisure

recreation

travel

art

school

holidays

camping

cooking

cater

ing

shopping

enter

tainin

g

Christ

masplaying cards

caring for kids

family

Family Organisation Shopping

Situations that occur in everyday family and

community life

Socialising

This year I've been coaching an Indigenous football team. We play in Adelaide metropolitan. The farthest game we played is Plympton heading south. Transport was an issue for a majority of our footballers. We only have a handful that have their own vehicles so it was up to those guys to individually negotiate getting rides to training and getting picked up. Personnel of the club try to organise rides and try to get players coming past their house to pick them up.

Financial assistance was an issue. We had to support players with petrol money to get to training and to get to games. Club gives $10, $20 to put petrol in, it's part of their agreement that they pick up a couple of players that didn't have transport. That's a strategy we put into place. Seemed to work well.

This year I've been coaching an Indigenous football team. We play in Adelaide metropolitan. The farthest game we played is Plympton heading south. Transport was an issue for a majority of our footballers. We only have a handful that have their own vehicles so it was up to those guys to individually negotiate getting rides to training and getting picked up. Personnel of the club try to organise rides and try to get players coming past their house to pick them up.

Financial assistance was an issue. We had to support players with petrol money to get to training and to get to games. Club gives $10, $20 to put petrol in, it's part of their agreement that they pick up a couple of players that didn't have transport. That's a strategy we put into place. Seemed to work well.

You need> 3 adults and 2 children models > one playing board> 1 or more participants.

What happensThree adults are travelling on a dirt track (see playing board) to get to a footy game, when their car breaks down. They start walking across a paddock to get to the main road.

Two children on a motorbike come along and agree to help the adults get across the paddock to the main road.

The motorbike is so small it can only carry 1 ADULT OR 1 OR 2 CHILDREN.Everyone can ride the bike.

What to doCalculate: How many trips will be needed for everyone to get to the main road?

Challenge yourself furtherHow many trips would be needed if there were:> 4 adults and 2 children?> 8 adults and 2 children?> 11 adults and 2 children?

Footy tripGoal: to use logic, algebra and patterning to solve a problem

Interactive numeracies • © 2008 Commonwealth of Australia. Produced by the Department of Education and Children’s Services, South Australia. 1

Same maths, different context

Different modes of learning

physical concrete manipulatives diagramatic abstract interactive software

Story Materials

Picture/Diagram Number sentence

Three adults and two children want to cross a river. The small boat will only take one adult, OR one or two children. Everyone can row the boat! How many crossing will be needed for everyone to get to the other side?

Students use their own stories to help make links. FSIM, 2003

Think Board: multi-representational that caters for different ways of thinking, learning and representation & situation to operation

Forms of RepresentationPlay Symbolic

FSiM, 2005

I cut the pizza into 8 pieces and shared it between 4 people so we each had ? pieces.

These various forms of representation include: • experience-based scripts of real world events or dramatic play

• manipulatives

• pictures and diagrams

• spoken language

• written symbols in number sentences

Teaching within a contextfamiliar unfamiliar content content

familiar unfamiliar context context

Adapted from Stephen Harris, 1984

Contextual teaching strategies

Relating: learning in the context of one’s life experiences

Experiencing: orchestrating hands-on experiences…learning by doing – through exploration,discovery and invention

Applying: learning by putting the concepts to use. The tasks pose a realistic situation and demonstrate the utility of mathematics in a student’s life,current or future

Cooperating: learning in the context of sharing,responding, and communicating with other learners

Transferring: using knowledge in a new context or situation ie transferring newly acquired knowledge in unfamiliar situations

Michael Crawford and Mary White Strategies for Mathematics: Teaching in Context

Educational Leadership, November 1999

41

Contextualising Crossing the River

Decontextualising Digging out the mathematics

Recontextualising Footy Trip

What’s in this resourceVideoed snapshots of stories from Aboriginal community members on how they use numeracy in their lives (socialising, work, shopping)

7 hands-on tasks

Integrated software which allows for extended learning

Teachers’ notes (including extension options) NB: This is a resource to consolidate learning. They are not

a substitute for explicit teaching of mathematical skills and concepts.

Tiger – a carnivorous Asian cat, theLargest member of the cat family.

Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Carnivora- Felidae

Powerful, runs fast; tawny coat, black stripes

Bengal tiger –occurs in IndiaPanthera tigris tigris

Siberian tiger – northern Panthera tigris altaica

A: Defines, proposes, clarifies, classifies. . .

B: Names, gives examples, describes how . . .B: Names, gives examples, describes how . . .

A: Defines, proposes, clarifies, classifies. . .

D: Abstracts essence, concept, expresses as image, analogy . . .

C: Felt meaning, value, expresses as personal story . . .

C: Felt meaning, value, expresses as personal story . . .

D: Abstracts essence, concept, expresses as image, analogy . . .

Footy Tripi

At the same )me…

…teach the language eg by nominalising verbs:

Verb Nominalisa.on

Reflect Reflec)on

Rotate Rota)on

Add Addi)on

Measure Measurement

45

Making a difference

Principal as Leader •teachers •professional development •inquiry / research •learning outcomes •teacher incentives •resources

ACEO as Leader •parents / community •Aboriginal voice •awareness raising •bridge between school & community •other organisations •support staff

AET as Leader •Aboriginal education •literacy & numeracy •teachers •teacher inquiry / research / pedagogy •curriculum •PD •innovative approaches

Teacher as Leader •in the classroom •Improving learning outcomes improving and developing pedagogy •assessment of learning assessing pedagogy •curriculum •talking with other teachers - learning

46

Probably nothing has more impact on students than the personal, professional growth

of their teacher. Barth, R. 1990, Improving Schools From Within, Jossey-‐Bass, San Francisco

FSIM Course Book, 2007

develop cultural competencies in ourselves and in our learners have deep mathematical content knowledge explicit teaching and learning (teaching for effective learning)

As educators we need to:

ab ed2009

Education

aboriginal people

aboriginal studies

adnyamathanha people

aboriginal education

aboriginal learners

emu eggs

frightened emu

male emu