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Contexts and Participation for Culturally Relevant Mathematics Pedagogy. Haiwen Chu Graduate Center City University of New York Laurie H. Rubel Brooklyn College City University of New York AERA Research in Mathematics Education SIG April 10, 2011.
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Contexts and Participation for Culturally Relevant Mathematics Pedagogy Haiwen Chu Graduate Center City University of New York Laurie H. Rubel Brooklyn College City University of New York AERA Research in Mathematics Education SIG April 10, 2011 This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 0742614 and 0119732. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Research Questions How do teachers use real-world contexts to enact culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy? What classrooms practices for student participation facilitate student mathematical understanding when working with real-world contexts?
Literature Review • Culturally Relevant Mathematics Pedagogy (Rubel, 2010; Chu & Rubel, 2010; Gutstein, et al., 1997; Ladson-Billings, 1995) • Real-World Contexts and School Mathematics (Dominguez, 2010; Lave, 1988; Jackson, et al. 2011) • Social and Cultural Supports for Learning Mathematics (Chapman, 2006; Civil, 2002; Boaler, 1993)
Centering the Teaching of Mathematics on Urban Youth • Two-year partnership with two NYC high schools • Professional Development (Rubel, in press) • Consecutive Weeklong Summer Institutes • Regular School-Based Teacher Meetings • Workshops Engaging with Students and Teachers • Research (Rubel & Chu, 2010) • Classroom Observations • Discourse Analysis of Meetings • Participant Group Reflections and Interviews
Data Sources • Participants: 6 teachers over 1.75 years • 16 Observations Per Teacher • Detailed Narrative Descriptions of Lessons • Ratings of Instructional Environment • Coding of Task Cognitive Demand • Descriptions of Use of Real-World Context
Given Teacher Central Developed Student Incidental Text Initial Analysis and Coding SOURCE ROLE MODELS ELABORATION
Physical Experiences Local Local Whole-Group Discussion Personal Personal Small-Group Work Writing Analysis and Coding RELEVANCE PARTICIPATION Local Personal
Results • Frequencies of Codes • Instances of Elaboration • Participation Structures that Support Student Understanding of Contexts
Multiple ELABORATION: “Middles” What does it mean for something to be in the “middle”? Like: middle child, middle of the week, middle of the road, middle of nowhere...” “normal” The teacher points out that a student twirling a protractor is doing so around two “middle” holes Another student then shares about how he, as the middle child, is closer to his older brother and his younger brother, but how his older and younger brothers aren't as close to each other. Many students in the class are disagreeing loudly about whether the middle is Wednesday and Thursday, and counting days starting Monday or Sunday.
ELABORATION: Physically Modeling a Line A coordinate plane is set up in the classroom with the axes taped off in blue tape on the grid formed by floor tiles. The teacher makes reference to the school being at the origin and different students standing at different points relative to the school. Students form a line, and another student is asked to walk from one student to another, not being allowed to “jump buildings”. Students make jokes about a local health center and taking taxis to get from point to point.
ELABORATION: Connecting discussion of art images to mathematical procedures Topic: Area of compound figures
UNELABORATED: “College Costs on the Rise” Students were given college costs in 2002-3 for colleges across the 50 states. They were told to find the means by state of in-state total costs Students then put states into given “measurement classes”.
Limitations of Topics • Textbooks as Source and Unelaborated Contexts • Mathematics Topics • Quadratics • Statistics • Logic
Approaches to Engaging Students’ Lived Experiences • Creating openings • Drawing connections • Sharing experiences
Discussion • What forms of knowledge enable teachers to connect students with contexts? • What are different forms of elaboration? • What collaborative structures best support teachers’ collective development?