Teaching Mathematics Through Local Culture

Teaching Maths Through Culture •Culture could be defined as the totality of a person’s way of life. •Mathematics on the other hand could be the way we think about things around us or science of pattern and order. •Culture as a tool for conveying mathematical ideas.

• Teachers’ cultures to a certain degree do have influnce on teachers’ perception towards their pupils’ attitudes and academic performance in schools. • How to help teachers “unlearn” the wrong ideas and help them learn the correct concepts. • In the Philippines, many teachers do not have enough content and possess limited pedagogical knowledge

• Knowledge gathered from the society in terms of counting, measuring, relating and classifying has been ignored in the formal school mathematics curriculum. • The need to connect mathematical content and the home culture of learners.

Culturally based materials • • • • • •

‘ketupat’: 3-Dimensional concept Folk songs, Riddles and Puzzles ‘cock crow’: Telling Time Shadow: Telling Time Bamboo “pansuh”: Cylinder Basket: Three Dimensional shape

‘Ketupat’ • • • • •

Addition Subtraction Multiplication Division Fraction

Bamboo (‘Pansuh’) • Cylinder • Volume

• Number line • Addition • Subtraction

Basket • Three Dimensional shape • Volume

Telling Time • ‘cock crow’. The cock crow in early hours of the morning signifies morning period (4am to 6am). • cockcrow at dawn. Also, in the evening period towards 6pm, the • Cockcrow at dusk shows that the day is getting to an end. • The concept of time can be taught through this cultural means by relating time with those familiar terms used for different period of the day.

Telling Time • Shadow. Whenever the shadow is getting longer in the morning in the front, it means the day is just starting (school time). • As the day goes down, the shadow enlongates. • At 12 noon the shadow gets longer again and goes behind you. • Towards evening, the shadow gets to the wall. • The concept of time is also communicated through this way.

Activity 1 • Choose a culture or tradition of your pupils or your own culture and show how to use it to teach mathematics in schools.