Promoting playful math learning in Oaxaca: Insights into conducting translational research in international contexts

• In Event: Learning through play across diverse geographies: Culturally- and contextually-responsive approaches in Mexico, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda

Proposal

The Fraction Ball program merges research on numerical cognition with the principles of playful learning to bolster upper elementary students’ knowledge of rational numbers and cultivate positive attitudes towards mathematics (Bustamante et al., 2020; Begolli et al., 2024; Guo, et al., 2024). It comprises a series of basketball games played on a redesigned court and playful classroom activities created in collaboration with 4th and 5th grade teachers through an iterative design process. Originating in Santa Ana, CA, this initiative has rapidly expanded to encompass additional schools within the district and has garnered interest from another district, as well as from abroad. We are adapting and implementing the program in two indigenous communities in Oaxaca. In 2023, we began a partnership with La Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (the Mexican Professional Basketball league) and journeyed to Oaxaca to inaugurate the program, conduct professional development workshops for over 30 teachers from our partner schools and neighboring communities. In this session, we will report results from a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of Fraction Ball on 4-6 grade students rational number knowledge. We will also discuss the partnerships and relationship building process that was necessary to start this work, adaptations made to the games to meet the needs of the local contexts, the process of translating the activities into Mixe (the indigenous language of the region), and share successes and lessons learned from this exciting international collaboration.

Author

• Andres Sebastian Bustamante, University of California Irvine