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Mathematical Modeling and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

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Cognition, Metacognition, and Culture in STEM Education

Part of the book series: Innovations in Science Education and Technology ((ISET,volume 24))

Abstract

Mathematical modeling and culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) are both pedagogical approaches that rely on students’ knowledge of everyday situations, yet mathematics education research has not fully attended to the ways in which they can be united in the classroom. We use an interpretation of culture as students’ lived experiences, a perspective drawn from the Funds of Knowledge approach, which can uncover knowledge that is relevant for rich mathematical tasks and that can support socially conscious reflection. This chapter proposes a new pedagogical model, suggesting that the cycle of mathematical modeling provides key moments to access students’ culturally based knowledge and that this approach can address weaknesses in typical implementations of culturally relevant pedagogy. Mathematical modeling asks students to complete a problem-solving cycle involving sense-making, develo** problem-solving tools, interpretation and validation of results, and further cycles of model improvement. The early stage of sense-making and the reflective stages at the end of the first modeling cycle are key points at which teachers can plan discussions to foreground students’ cultural knowledge and critical consciousness. We provide examples of this approach through a task on modeling neighborhood fence designs, and we provide reflections on implementing this approach with preservice secondary teachers in an early stage of their pedagogical education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Cynthia O. Anhalt & Marta Civil

  2. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Susan Staats

  3. Mathematics Department, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Ricardo Cortez

Authors
  1. Cynthia O. Anhalt
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  2. Susan Staats
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  3. Ricardo Cortez
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  4. Marta Civil
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cynthia O. Anhalt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion, Haifa, Israel

    Yehudit Judy Dori

  2. The Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Research, Haifa, Israel

    Yehudit Judy Dori

  3. David Yellin Academic College of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Zemira R. Mevarech

  4. Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Educational Leadership and Innovation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Dale R. Baker

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Anhalt, C.O., Staats, S., Cortez, R., Civil, M. (2018). Mathematical Modeling and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. In: Dori, Y.J., Mevarech, Z.R., Baker, D.R. (eds) Cognition, Metacognition, and Culture in STEM Education. Innovations in Science Education and Technology, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66659-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66659-4_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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