Two Approaches to Problem Solving in a Yucatec Maya Village: Expertise Untapped in the Math Classroom?

• In Event: Conceptualizing Equity in Mathematics Education Research, Practices, and Policy

Abstract

In Yucatec Maya middle schools in the Yucatán, math scores are low and drop out rates are high. Although addressing larger social and economic causes may ameliorate these issues, improving math instruction may be a more immediate, feasible solution. This ethnographic, mixed-methods study explores community approaches to problem-solving relevant to middle school math classrooms. Findings indicate: (1) community members possess specialized, practical mathematical expertise that is often overlooked in the research around rural, impoverished students, and (2) formal math instruction capitalizes upon one area of expertise, autonomy, but misses opportunities to capitalize upon another, improvisational mindset. Findings have implications for policy and math instruction pertaining to Yucatec Maya in México and to Common Core Math curriculum in the U.S.

Author

• Felicia A. Darling, Stanford University