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Anup Somalwar Mentor: John Pecore , Ph.D. Ronald E. McNair Program asomalwar@temple.edu

Infusing the Inquiry Model of Teaching with Culture: A Potential Combination for Addressing Low Math Self Efficacy . Anup Somalwar Mentor: John Pecore , Ph.D. Ronald E. McNair Program asomalwar@temple.edu. Today’s Agenda. Rationale for study

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Anup Somalwar Mentor: John Pecore , Ph.D. Ronald E. McNair Program asomalwar@temple.edu

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  1. Infusing the Inquiry Model of Teaching with Culture: A Potential Combination for Addressing Low Math Self Efficacy AnupSomalwar Mentor: John Pecore, Ph.D. Ronald E. McNair Program asomalwar@temple.edu

  2. Today’s Agenda • Rationale for study • Brief description of key terms involved using excerpts from literature review • Discussion of methodology • Implications for future researchers and educators

  3. Why am I interested in this topic? • TUteach class: Perspectives on Math and Science • Job experience working as tutor-mentor at Upward Bound • Personal desire to eliminate the achievement gap in Philadelphia

  4. Achievement Gap in U.S. • The achievement gap: the disparity in academic performance between different ethnicities.

  5. More NAEP Data

  6. Developing the project • Not enough (my opinion) has been done on teacher interventions in the classroom trying to combat achievement gap • The solution may lie in innovative instruction; ethnomathematics and inquiry based learning • Performance is linked to self confidence, or self-efficacy (Kitsantas, A., Ware, H., & Cheema, J. 2010).

  7. Research Question • What impact does teaching using the inquiry method (incorporating culture via ethnomathematics) have on the self efficacy of the students in a mathematics classroom?

  8. What is Self-Efficacy?

  9. What is the inquiry model of teaching? • “Inquiry mathematics: where students learn to speak and act mathematically by participating in mathematical discussion and solving new or unfamiliar problems” (Richards, 1991). vs.

  10. What is ethnomathematics? • “Ethnomathematics is the application of mathematical ideas and practices to problems that confronted people in the past or are encountered in present contemporary culture” (Orey and Rosa 11).

  11. Hypothesis • Utilizing the inquiry method to teach culturally relevant mathematics lessons will increase student self efficacy in the classroom (given what we know from past research).

  12. Methodology • Design and teach inquiry mini-unit based on ethnomathematics at Parker High School • Administer self efficacy surveys • Conduct interviews with students from 3 groups: high self efficacy, low self efficacy, and no change in self efficacy.

  13. Background on Parker High School • 9th graders; inquiry based learning is the focus

  14. How I plan to measure self- efficacy • Run statistical analysis on the survey data (quantitative aspect of results). • Analyze student responses in interviews with answers on self efficacy surveys (qualitative aspect of results).

  15. Examples of Survey Questions • I feel very confident with my mathematical ability. ________ • I shape my feelings towards math primarily from my experiences on tests. ______ • When I do poorly on a math exam or homework, I give up. _____ • I obtain high grades (B or higher) in mathematics. ____

  16. Examples of Interview Questions • Describe in your own words, how you feel towards math? • Do you feel that math is related to your own life? • What connections do you make in the math classroom to the real world? • How do you deal with obstacles in mathematics? Describe the strategies you use when taking tests, doing homework, and participating in class.

  17. Ideas for the Miniunit • Ethnomathematician Ron Eglash’s work using Cultural Design Tools • Games that have mathematical aspects behind their operations; oware also known as mancala in the U.S.

  18. Cornrow Curves • Learn history behind cornrows • Apply math to create your own cornrow designs • Mathematics concepts: Translation (shift), Reflection (mirror image), scaling, rotation, symmetry, modeling cornrow pattern using functions (graphing linear equations and inequalities), Cartesian coordinate system. • Suitable for Algebra 1 and Geometry students

  19. Cornrow Curves cont.

  20. Rhythm Wheels • Students learn background on Latino heritage in the Caribbean and understand how music developed • Create your own musical patterns based on different sounds; different genres of music incorporated into software • Mathematical concepts: Fractions, Ratios, Least Common Multiple (LCM)

  21. Rhythm Wheels Cont.

  22. Potential Implications of Study • Will give further validation to studies done on culturally sensitive teaching • Improve my own skills as a teacher • Recommendation by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

  23. Acknowledgments • Special thanks to my mentor Dr. Pecore, Program Staff at Temple for the McNair Program, and my fellow peers in McNair for brainstorming ideas, feedback, and encouragement. • TUTeach faculty for guidance, support, and IRB insight.

  24. References • Orey, D, & Rosa, M. (2007). Cultural assertions and challenges toward pedagogical action of an ethnomathematics program. For the Learning of Mathematics, 27(1), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40248554 . • Eglash, R, Bennett, A, O'Donnell, C, Jennings, S, & Cintorino, M. (2006). Culturally situated design tools: ethnocomputing from field site to classroom. American Anthropologist, 108(2). • Goos, M. . (2004). Learning mathematics in a classroom community of inquiry. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 35(4), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30034810. • Usher , E. . (2009). Sources of middle school students’ self-efficacy in mathematics: a qualitative investigation. American Educational Research Journal, 46(1), Retrieved from http://aer.sagepub.com/content/46/1/275 • Kitsantas, A., Ware, H., & Cheema, J. (2010). Predicting mathematics achievement from mathematics efficacy: does analytical method make a difference?. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 5, 25-44. • Hines, M. , Kritsonis, W., & , Initials. (2010). The interactive effects of race and teacher self efficacy on the achievement gap in school. NATIONAL FORUM OF MULTICULTURAL ISSUES JOURNAL, 7. • Selin, H. (2000). Mathematics across cultures. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer academic Press.Powell, A.B., Temple, O. (2001). Seeding Ethnomathematics with Oware:  Sankofa. Teaching Children Mathematics, 7 (6), 369-374. • Snipes, P. (2005). The effect of African culture on African American students' achievement on selected geometry topics in the elementary mathematics classroom. Negro Education Review, 56 (2/3), 147-166

  25. Questions? Contact information: AnupSomalwar asomalwar@temple.edu

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