Indigenous Ways of Knowing Connection to Essentials of Math Instruction

Deep Understanding

On the one hand, students learn mathematical knowledge; on the other, students can reach a much deeper understanding by participating in coming to know mathematics, if they are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the process, such as in project-based learning (Aikenhead & Michell, p. 69-71, 94, 131).¹

Coming to know signifies a personal, participatory, constructive process toward gaining community-based knowledge and wisdom-in-action. … Coming to know is a journey into deep understanding of events or of processes in daily life. For instance, if someone is coming to know a plant, they enter into a personal relationship with the plant… (p. 131)

Aboriginal Perspectives – the Videos²
Uses “video material featuring Aboriginal people and cultural activities as a base for constructing teaching resources.”
Encourages teachers to utilize the video material to “construct their own lessons.”
Teaching Math Lessons that incorporate Indigenous Mathematizing.³ Video (18 min.).

Empowering the Spirit⁴
Pedagogy that embraces Indigenous ways of knowing are fostered by approaches to teaching and learning that include purposeful thinking about people, places and processes.
Research Guides: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in K-12 Teaching⁵ .
This guide is designed to help Initial Teacher Education students find materials that centre or focus on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit worldviews, experiences and knowledges for teaching in the K-12 classroom.
Four Directions Teaching⁶ .
Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaw lessons for K-12.
McDowell Foundation Project.
“Culture-Based School Mathematics for Reconciliation and Professional Development”(PDF version) ⁷.

Recommended Website Resources

¹Aikenhead. G., & Michell, H. (2011). Bridging cultures: Indigenous and scientific ways of knowing nature. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Pearson Education.

²University of Regina. Aboriginal Perspectives. Developed by the Alberta Regional Consortia. Retrieved 5 July 2020, from http://aboriginalperspectives.uregina.ca/videos.shtml

³A conversation between consultant Sharon Meyer and teacher Serena Palmer about her developing and teaching math lessons that incorporate Indigenous mathematizing.Meyer, S., & Palmer, S. Retrieved 5 July 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1rlphwI6RM&feature=youtu.be

⁴Pedagogy – Empowering the Spirit. (2020). Retrieved 5 July 2020, from http://empoweringthespirit.ca/pedagogy/

⁵Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Research guides: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in K-12 Teaching: Online TRC Materials for Educators. (2013). Retrieved 5 July 2020, from https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=251299&p=5004969

⁶Four Directions Teachings.com – Teachers Resource Kit. Retrieved 5 July 2020, from http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com.

⁷Meyer, S., Aikenhead, G., Cardinal, K., Sylvestre, D., & View, T. (2019) Culture-Based School Mathematics for Reconciliation and Professional Development. McDowell Foundation. Retrieved 5 July 2020, from https://mcdowellfoundation.ca/?s=Culture+based (download the document here: https://saskmath.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/culture-based_math.pdf)