The role of culture in approaches to task design in classroom instruction

• In Event: Global Mathematics Education SIG Highlighted Session: Math education for linguistic and cultural minorities

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to examine the role of task design when attempting to identify children’s existing prior knowledge in mathematics, an important aspect of effective early grade instruction. Prior research has shown that children develop particular mathematical skills and understandings through participation in culturally-specific activities, and that these understandings are different in character than the mathematics that is taught in school. However, attempts to identify prior knowledge often employ tasks that are designed to reveal only school mathematics. In this presentation, I draw from two mixed methods studies in which I focused on marginalized children who had to work for a living in order to help support their families in India and Mexico. Often, these children did not have access to consistent and high quality formal schooling; however, they developed unique forms of mathematical understandings through selling small items. I describe the role of task design in order to shed light on these children’s prior knowledge, where tasks were based in children’s everyday activities. I contrast this approach with a traditional, school-based task, and discuss the differences in purpose between the two tasks. I then discuss the implications of this approach and the application to classroom instruction.

Author

• Yasmin Sitabkhan, RTI International