Abstract
Connecting students’ cultural and community mathematical practices to school mathematics is a critical issue in mathematics education. The goal of the study was to identify how teachers incorporate children’s cultural and out-of-school mathematics in instruction. Four related practices were identified, and three drew on children’s cultural or out-of-school experiences: (a) using these experiences as contexts for problems, (b) linking these experiences to school mathematics, and (c) identifying embedded mathematical practices prominent in these experiences. A fourth category, teacher initiated situated settings, focused on shared experiences using the classroom as a site of culture. Findings suggest that these practices represent varying levels of complexity and that use of this framework might support teachers in better relating students’ cultural and out-of-school experiences to mathematics.
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The material in this paper is based in part on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0119732 to the Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning and Teaching (DiME/CLT). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position, policy, or endorsement of the National Science Foundation.
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Wager, A.A. Incorporating out-of-school mathematics: from cultural context to embedded practice. J Math Teacher Educ 15, 9–23 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-011-9199-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-011-9199-3