Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms

Description

Language can be simultaneously both a support and a hindrance to students’ learning of mathematics. When students have sufficient fluency in the mathematics register so that they can discuss their ideas, they become chiefs who are able to think mathematically. However, learning the mathematics register of an Indigenous language is not a simple exercise and involves many challenges not only for students, but also for their teachers and the wider community. Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms identifies some of the challenges—political, mathematical, community based, and pedagogical— to the mathematics register, faced by an Indigenous school, in this case a Mäori immersion school. It also details the solutions created by the collaboration of teachers, researchers and community members. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-18 The Development of a Mathematics Register in an Indigenous Language....Pages 19-35 The History of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu – The Politicisation of a Local Community....Pages 37-52 It Is Kind of Hard to Develop Ideas When You Can’t Understand the Question: Doing Exams Bilingually....Pages 53-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-79 The Resources in Te Reo Māori for Students to Think Mathematically....Pages 81-97 Writing to Help Students Think Mathematically....Pages 99-120 The Case of Probability....Pages 121-148 Front Matter....Pages 149-151 Using the Mathematics Register Outside the Classroom....Pages 153-170 Teachers as Learners of the Mathematics Register....Pages 171-192 Front Matter....Pages 193-197 “They Don’t Use the Words Unless You Really Teach Them”: Mathematical Register Acquisition Model....Pages 199-224 “Māori were Traditional Explorers”: Māori Pedagogical Practices....Pages 225-248 And That’s What You Want to Happen. You Want the Shift in Classroom Practice....Pages 249-267 Meeting Challenges....Pages 269-281 Back Matter....Pages 283-309