Curriculum in Action: Understanding Numeracy

Part 1: At the beginning of the reading, Leroy Little Bear (2000) states that colonialism “tries to maintain a singular social order by means of force and law, suppressing the diversity of human worldviews. … Typically, this proposition creates oppression and discrimination” (p. 77). Think back on your experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics — were there aspects of it that were oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?

In my schooling experiences of learning math, many teachers only taught one approach to whichever concept we were learning — if you didn’t understand that approach, the student would fail the concept. Individuals learn in a variety of different ways which forces struggle upon those who fail to comprehend the “single” approach often used in math, leaving the student unbalanced. LittleBear states: “If a person is whole and balanced, then he or she is in a position to fulfil his or her responsibilities as a whole” (LittleBear, 2000, p. 79) and vice versa. In a subject like math, many educators are hesitant to use different approaches outside of standardized testing; there is a lack of class discussion which is often blamed due to a lack of time. Students can manifest learning through cyclical patterns and repetitions (LittleBear, 2000, p. 81) meaning that students will achieve higher levels of learning if they are given the time to use different approaches, ask questions, as well as have extra practice in math. Although these are “in a perfect world” expectations for educators, teachers can promote student learning through “praise, reward, and recognition” (LittleBear, 2000, p. 81) of what the students do know — given them motivation to continuously pursue learning in any avenue.

Part 2: After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes of mathematics and the way we learn it. 

There are three primary approaches in Inuit teaching Inuit mathematics that challenge Eurocentric ideas about mathematics based on counting, localization, and measuring (Poirier, 2007, p. 56).

• Firstly, the Inuit community uses the approach of “observing an elder or listening to enigmas” (Poirier, 2007. p. 55) students are assessed based oral and observation skills and teaching methods rather than by standardized testing.
• Second, Inuit mathematics uses the base-20 numeral system, rather than the Western societal norm of based-10 numeral systems (Poirier, 2007, p. 57). The numbers 20 and 400 are pivotal numbers which other numbers are built off of (Poirier, 2007, p. 57).
• Lastly, Inuit students learn mathematics in their native languages for the first three years of their lives and then go on to switch to either French or English (Poirier, 2007, p. 53). As opposed to Western society which more than likely only teaches students mathematics in one language.

I believe both Eurocentric and Inuit approaches to mathematics can be beneficial in any community and I highly respect that the Inuit community proves that there is more than one “right” way to approach mathematics. As future educators, I believe that enabling both approaches can be helpful in guaranteeing student success, especially in a subject that many students struggle to comprehend.