Order 1239100: Reading Response Blog 3
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Lesson9Math_Science_MCE_Online.pptxTeaching Math and Science Multiculturally
EDF 2085
Prof. Mukherjee
Figure It Out!
Why Teach Math/Science?
Multicultural Answers:
Use knowledge to make the world a better place
Teach basic, functional skills as well as important themes like conservation; health; wealth distribution; voting…
Research has demonstrated male dominance and cross cultural under-representation in math/ science fields (at both school and societal levels)
Why Math and Science
“Today, I want to argue, the most urgent social issue affecting poor people and people of color is economic access. In today’s world, economic access and full citizenship depend crucially on math and science literacy.”
Bob Moses, Civil Rights Activist and Found of The Algebra Project
Radical Equations: Math Literacy and Civil Rights, p. 5
Indicators of Social Inequity Related to Science & Math Education
Professions that draw highest salaries tend to emphasize math and science
These fields tend to be segregated by race and gender
Patterns of segregation by sex and race can be viewed in patterns of enrollment in math & science in K-12 system
Patterns of racial and gender homogeneity also evident in representation in illustration and content of science & math textbooks
Failure to engage all students undermine their potential and future lifestyles/chances.
What Do We Want To Achieve in Math/ Science Education?
Multicultural Answers:
Critical (reflective) math and science literacy
Access to high levels of math/ science literacy for all students
Understanding how math & science are used in daily contexts
Understanding the political context of math and science (examples: racist theories of intelligence; use of statistics to support diverse positions)
Ensure not only functional levels of science & math literacy, but also CRITICAL science & math literacy
Traditional Answers:
Mastery of selected skills and knowledge of selected “facts”
Stratification of curriculum (tracking)
Content Concerns
Multicultural Answers:
Recognizes that Math and Science are not “culture-free”
Many cultures have contributed to our knowledge of Math and Science
Current uses of mathematics/ science in society (social issues as math/ science problems)
Emphasizes process (DOING a problem), not just product (getting the CORRECT answer)
Traditional Answers:
Claims that Math/ science are “universal”, culture-free subjects
Math and science are “objective” and, therefore, bias-free
Math and science problems have one right answer
Instruction/ Activities
Multicultural Answers:
Learning through meaningful, reality based problem solving activities
Inquiry-based approaches (teaching students to ask questions)
Allowing for mistakes (science as a process of reasoned trial and error)
Multiple learning styles addressed
Interdisciplinary inquiry (link science and math with other subject areas)
Traditional Answers:
Memorization
Learning occurs through repetitive practice (“drill and kill’)
Field independent instruction
*** Note that the purpose in contrasting the MCE ideas with the ‘traditional’ was to establish a link with the discussion in the text. The ‘traditional’ ideas are not all to be negated. Some of them could well be used in conjunction with the more ‘progressive’ approach. The idea is to move beyond some of the standards and limitations of traditional practice, not to replace them.
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Reflection
Love
Characteristics
Instructional style
Teacher
Climate of the class
Type of content
Etc.
Hate
Characteristics
Instructional style
Teacher
Climate of the class
Type of content
Etc.
Identify the students who claim to have loved science or math in Middle/ High School. Identify those who hated these subjects. Then, for each group, ask them to come up with a list of characteristics of their science and math classes in terms of: the instructional style, the characteristics of the teacher, the climate of the class, the type of content taught etc.
Once they have completed their lists, divide the board into two: On one side list the ideas of the students who loved the subjects, on the other side list the ideas of those who did not. Examine the patterns that emerge. Ask students if they see any indication in these lists of how one makes science/ math instruction multicultural.
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Closing Poem
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
By Walt Whitman
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
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