Abstract
Our study attempted to address young Bedouin students’ persistent difficulties with mathematics by integrating ethnomathematics into a standard curriculum. First, we conducted extensive interviews with 35 Bedouin elders to identify the mathematical elements of their daily lives—particularly traditional units of length and weight. We then combined these with the standard curriculum to make an integrated 30-hour 7th grade teaching unit that was implemented in two Bedouin schools. Comparisons between the experimental group (75) and the control group (70) showed that studying the integrated curriculum improved the students’ self-perception and motivation, but had almost no effect on achievements in school tests that were conducted immediately after the experiment. The experiment had an extra social impact, changing students’ attitudes to their own culture and the tribe’s older generation.
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Notes
- 1.
The two additional units were designed for and implemented with students in the 8th grade. They addressed 2D geometry, as reflected in embroidery, and 3D geometry, as reflected in the traditional tents.
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Amit, M., Abu Qouder, F. (2017). Weaving Culture and Mathematics in the Classroom: The Case of Bedouin Ethnomathematics. In: Rosa, M., Shirley, L., Gavarrete, M., Alangui, W. (eds) Ethnomathematics and its Diverse Approaches for Mathematics Education. ICME-13 Monographs. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59220-6_2
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