Algonquin Looming and Culturally Responsive Mathematics: Reflections From Community Members

• In Event: Roundtable Session 51
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally Responsive STEM Education for Native Students

Abstract

This paper is part of a long-term study exploring connections between Indigenous ways of knowing and the Western mathematics that is represented in current Canadian provincial mathematics curricula. Using an ethnomathematics framework, we have worked with Elders and community members from Indigenous communities across Ontario, Canada, to co-design units of instruction that are culturally responsive and mathematically rigorous. In this paper, we present reflections from community members both pre- and post- instruction. We believe incorporating Indigenous perspectives in mathematics instruction is fundamental in transforming school-based education from a colonial past into a form that respects both Western and Indigenous traditions.

Authors

• Ruth A. Beatty, Lakehead University

• Danielle Blair, Ministry of Education - Ontario