Local Mathematics in Nunatsiavut: A Funds of Knowledge Approach

• Main Author: Bergquist, Karli
• Other Authors: Barwell, Richard
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa 2020
• Subjects: mathematics education; funds of knowledge; Nunatsiavut; Inuit; Aguirre; Gonzalez; inuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/40752; https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-24979

This paper outlines a project with preservice teachers in the Nunatsiavut Inuit Bachelor of Education Program (IBED) who are using culturally responsive teaching methods (Gay, 2013) in mathematics education. A funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 1992) approach was used as the theoretical framework for understanding how the multiple mathematics knowledge bases (Civil, 2016) that underlie individual and household practices can be identified and accessed for mathematics education. The research questions are: 1) How do Nunatsiavut Inuit pre-service teachers access local knowledge, culture and language when planning for mathematics instruction? 2) What are the meaningful interactions, sources and areas of mathematics knowledge they consider for teaching? Data was collected from 9 participants, all pre-service teachers in the Inuit Bachelor of Education program, who took part in semi-structured interviews. A framework adapted from Aguirre et al. (2012) was used to identify connections between mathematical thinking and local household practices which hold mathematical potential (what participants often referred to as “common sense”). The literature review discusses three themes that emerge in similar projects with Indigenous communities around the world: ethnomathematics, decolonization and community engagement. The themes demonstrate the significant impact of a mathematics education grounded in local knowledge for those it is meant to educate. When grounded in culture, everyday practice and community well being, mathematics education has the potential to be transformative for students and communities. Transcript analysis of the interviews and lesson plans reveal a range of sources of mathematics knowledge, many of which are connected to activities on the land and relationships within the community. Discourse about Inuit identity and education was also revealed in the interviews. I am a non-Indigenous researcher who advocates for culturally responsive mathematics education and am learning how to do this work in a good way. I seek to act as an accomplice of the preservice IBED teachers with the privilege of sharing their insights through my project as they leverage a new way of learning mathematics for Nunatsiavut students.