COUNTING ON TRADITION: Math in a Cultural Context adds up

摘要

The formula is simple: Apply Native elders' everyday knowledge to school mathematics. From that idea Math in a Cultural Context has grown and flourished, producing nine educational modules that consist of curriculum books and accompanying storybooks,training hundreds of teachers, and reaching seventeen school districts across Alaska and beyond. MCC, which joined SNRAS and the UA Geography Program in 2007, is led by Professor Jerry Lipka. While striving to increase the number of indigenous teachers in Dillingham in the early 1980s, Lipka met with parents and grandparents of potential educators to listen to their ideas. Immediately recognizing the value of the Yup'ik elders' knowledge, Lipka turned to the National Science Foundation for financial support. The NSF agreed to fund the project if it focused on math. "So we went to the math side," Lipka said. By 1996 he had a planning grant and by 1997 was operating under a full grant.