Engaging Students in Mathematics with Culturally Responsive ...
ENGAGING STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS WITH CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE STORIES Amy Corp, Ed.D. Assistant professor
What do we mean by “culturally responsive”?
“Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.” “It is based on the assumption that when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference of students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly.” Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of teacher education, 53(2), 106-116.
What makes a story culturally responsive?
The main characters are non-White.
“Children’s literature has enormous potential for helping children develop positive racial identity… Books can be mirrors in which children see and savor images and representations similar to their own lives and experiences.” (Wanless & Crawford, 2016)
The story affirms the racial, cultural, ethnic and/or gender identity of the character.
Wanless, S. B., & Crawford, P. A. (2016). Reading Your Way to a Culturally Responsive Classroom. YC Young Children, 71(2), 8.
Why should we use these stories? After evaluating a database of 455 picture books published in 2012 by U.S. trade book publishers of picture books, Dr. Koss concludes...
“Despite increasing U.S. diversity, picture books that feature non-stereotypically diverse populations remain a rarity.”
“The lack of diversity in children’s literature(i.e., who is writing, publishing, and being written about) indicates that educators will need to make special efforts to seek out and use quality books that include diverse characters…”
Koss, M. D. (2015). Diversity in contemporary picturebooks: A content analysis. Journal of Children's Literature, 41(1), 32.
Why should we use these stories in mathematics? To see how mathematics isn’t culture specific.
“Multicultural literature that focuses on mathematics enables children to move beyond their current knowledge base and make culturally relevant mathematical connections through such universal topics as money, time, and measurement.” “Specifically, multicultural literature that features familiar mathematical concepts, such as counting and skip counting, enables children to understand from an early age that math concepts are universal in nature.” Iliev, N., & D'Angelo, F. (2014). Teaching Mathematics through Multicultural Literature. Teaching Children Mathematics, 20(7), 452-457.
Other reasons to use these stories in math.
To provide prior knowledge for the problems related to the story.
To create curiosity and connections with and about other cultures and global perspectives for math.
Generates conversations.
Let’s look at the criteria for evaluating stories.
The following is from Heflin & Barksdale-Ladd (2001). Books
should include characters who are well developed, portrayed in authentic and in realistic contexts. Example:
The language should be authentic and realistic. Examine
dialogues carefully and determine if dialects are appropriate.
Example:
“Move out of the way, baby. I almost stepped on you.” –Aunt Violet “I been knowing about Big Mama’s secret ingredient a long time. But nobody knows I know. Keep it to yourself.”- Aunt Mae
The illustrations of characters and settings should be authentic and realistic. Example:
Why should we use these stories in mathematics?
The book should present accurate information. Example:
Let’s look at some examples:
How is the story culturally responsive?
Corp, A. (2017 –available fall) Tea cakes and sweet potato pie for all: Student responses to African American stories in mathematics. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, (19).
Let’s look at some examples:
What mathematics from the story are universal?
Let’s look at some examples:
What mathematical activities extend from the story?
What mathematical concepts can we practice with the context of the story?
How did students responded in my study? • Setting: Two third grade math classrooms in a Title 1 public school. • Participants: 41 third grade students Section A Section B
Female (F) 12 13
Male (M) White Hispanic Black 8 8 (5F, 3M) 5 (4F, 1M) 7 (3F, 4M) 8 9 (7F, 2M) 2 (1F, 1M) 10 (5F, 5M)
• Time frame: Fall semester 2013 (13 weeks) 11 lessons with AA literature (1x week)
How do students respond to the use of stories featuring African Americans in mathematics?
Focus on how African American students responded.
Later compared by race.
Answering the research question from the student reflection data question 1.
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
3
Example of the top portion of weekly survey.
3
4
How black students felt about the story: Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Class One 3.857 3.428 4 3.857 4 3.833 3.142 3.833 3.571 3.571 3.571
Total Average
Key:
counts of #4 6 4 7 6 7 5 4 5 5 4 4
3's 1 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 3 3
2's 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
57
15
4
3.696
4= It was awesome.
Class Two 3.5 3.7 3.3 3.6 3.875 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.666 3.5 3.625
counts of # 4's 6 9 6 8 7 9 4 6 7 4 6
3's 1 3 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 4 1
2's 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
1's 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
72
21
6
2
• The average rating for all stories - 3.66. __ _
• The range for all stories - 3.32 to 3.94. ___
3.596
72.8%
3= It was interesting.
20.3%
2= It was ok.
.56%
1= It was boring.
.01%
Teacher’s response: • Average for all stories 3.36 (same range)
Side by side comparison of how students rated the story: 4
Responses of Black Students Responses of Hispanic Students Resposes of White Students
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
Overall Average: Black: 3.64 Hispanic: 3.59 White: 3.39 __
1
0.5
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Now it’s your turn: Look through the story and evaluate to determine if this story is culturally responsive? * Use your handout to help you think about each criteria given by researchers & NCCLR.
Look through the story: What mathematics from the story is universal? What concepts could you cover with context from the story? What standards could you connect to (Common Core, TEKS)?
RESOURCES: http://www.equityallianceatasu.org/sites/defa ult/files/Website_files/CulturallyResponsiveTea ching-Matters.pdf Gay’s article on CRP: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177 /0022487102053002003 These slides are in the online schedule for the conference.
What do we mean by “culturally responsive”?
“Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.” “It is based on the assumption that when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference of students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly.” Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of teacher education, 53(2), 106-116.
What makes a story culturally responsive?
The main characters are non-White.
“Children’s literature has enormous potential for helping children develop positive racial identity… Books can be mirrors in which children see and savor images and representations similar to their own lives and experiences.” (Wanless & Crawford, 2016)
The story affirms the racial, cultural, ethnic and/or gender identity of the character.
Wanless, S. B., & Crawford, P. A. (2016). Reading Your Way to a Culturally Responsive Classroom. YC Young Children, 71(2), 8.
Why should we use these stories? After evaluating a database of 455 picture books published in 2012 by U.S. trade book publishers of picture books, Dr. Koss concludes...
“Despite increasing U.S. diversity, picture books that feature non-stereotypically diverse populations remain a rarity.”
“The lack of diversity in children’s literature(i.e., who is writing, publishing, and being written about) indicates that educators will need to make special efforts to seek out and use quality books that include diverse characters…”
Koss, M. D. (2015). Diversity in contemporary picturebooks: A content analysis. Journal of Children's Literature, 41(1), 32.
Why should we use these stories in mathematics? To see how mathematics isn’t culture specific.
“Multicultural literature that focuses on mathematics enables children to move beyond their current knowledge base and make culturally relevant mathematical connections through such universal topics as money, time, and measurement.” “Specifically, multicultural literature that features familiar mathematical concepts, such as counting and skip counting, enables children to understand from an early age that math concepts are universal in nature.” Iliev, N., & D'Angelo, F. (2014). Teaching Mathematics through Multicultural Literature. Teaching Children Mathematics, 20(7), 452-457.
Other reasons to use these stories in math.
To provide prior knowledge for the problems related to the story.
To create curiosity and connections with and about other cultures and global perspectives for math.
Generates conversations.
Let’s look at the criteria for evaluating stories.
The following is from Heflin & Barksdale-Ladd (2001). Books
should include characters who are well developed, portrayed in authentic and in realistic contexts. Example:
The language should be authentic and realistic. Examine
dialogues carefully and determine if dialects are appropriate.
Example:
“Move out of the way, baby. I almost stepped on you.” –Aunt Violet “I been knowing about Big Mama’s secret ingredient a long time. But nobody knows I know. Keep it to yourself.”- Aunt Mae
The illustrations of characters and settings should be authentic and realistic. Example:
Why should we use these stories in mathematics?
The book should present accurate information. Example:
Let’s look at some examples:
How is the story culturally responsive?
Corp, A. (2017 –available fall) Tea cakes and sweet potato pie for all: Student responses to African American stories in mathematics. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, (19).
Let’s look at some examples:
What mathematics from the story are universal?
Let’s look at some examples:
What mathematical activities extend from the story?
What mathematical concepts can we practice with the context of the story?
How did students responded in my study? • Setting: Two third grade math classrooms in a Title 1 public school. • Participants: 41 third grade students Section A Section B
Female (F) 12 13
Male (M) White Hispanic Black 8 8 (5F, 3M) 5 (4F, 1M) 7 (3F, 4M) 8 9 (7F, 2M) 2 (1F, 1M) 10 (5F, 5M)
• Time frame: Fall semester 2013 (13 weeks) 11 lessons with AA literature (1x week)
How do students respond to the use of stories featuring African Americans in mathematics?
Focus on how African American students responded.
Later compared by race.
Answering the research question from the student reflection data question 1.
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
3
Example of the top portion of weekly survey.
3
4
How black students felt about the story: Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Class One 3.857 3.428 4 3.857 4 3.833 3.142 3.833 3.571 3.571 3.571
Total Average
Key:
counts of #4 6 4 7 6 7 5 4 5 5 4 4
3's 1 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 3 3
2's 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
57
15
4
3.696
4= It was awesome.
Class Two 3.5 3.7 3.3 3.6 3.875 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.666 3.5 3.625
counts of # 4's 6 9 6 8 7 9 4 6 7 4 6
3's 1 3 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 4 1
2's 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
1's 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
72
21
6
2
• The average rating for all stories - 3.66. __ _
• The range for all stories - 3.32 to 3.94. ___
3.596
72.8%
3= It was interesting.
20.3%
2= It was ok.
.56%
1= It was boring.
.01%
Teacher’s response: • Average for all stories 3.36 (same range)
Side by side comparison of how students rated the story: 4
Responses of Black Students Responses of Hispanic Students Resposes of White Students
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
Overall Average: Black: 3.64 Hispanic: 3.59 White: 3.39 __
1
0.5
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Now it’s your turn: Look through the story and evaluate to determine if this story is culturally responsive? * Use your handout to help you think about each criteria given by researchers & NCCLR.
Look through the story: What mathematics from the story is universal? What concepts could you cover with context from the story? What standards could you connect to (Common Core, TEKS)?
RESOURCES: http://www.equityallianceatasu.org/sites/defa ult/files/Website_files/CulturallyResponsiveTea ching-Matters.pdf Gay’s article on CRP: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177 /0022487102053002003 These slides are in the online schedule for the conference.
