Culture, social interaction, and mathematics learning

Abstract

The research report investigates connections between five 3rd garde pupils (one African American boy, single African American girl, one Caucasian girl, single Asian boy, and one Middle Eastern boy) belief, attitudes, and practices about mathematics and their parents' expectations. In addition, the inquiry examines the relationships between the social interaction of these five scholars on mathematics learning and their mathematical dispositions. In search of a viable understanding of the above situations, constructivist inquiry was used. In this paper we discuss students' attitudes and beliefs towards themselves and towards mathematics, parents' expectations, classroom social norms and sociomathematical norms, and the teacher's character for establishing classroom culture.

agriculture Social Interaction, and Mathematics Learning***

In any tillage people share language, place, traditions, and ways or organizing, interpreting, conceptualizing, and giving meaning to their physical and social world. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM 2001a) acknowledges the importance of culturally relevant mathematics by dint of stating that "social condition, social tradition or agriculture and social goals influence scholar learning ... However, a student's social traditions or agriculture may either coincide or conflict with classroom norms for learner activity, student conduct, and student-teacher interactions" (p 7) In the case of conflict between a student's tillage and classroom social norms, the scholar may or may not accept the classroom social norms and may or may not be able to adapt to the institute environment. Therefore, that conflict may impact the student's learning mathematics. upon the other hand, a sensitive teacher may note the student's cultural patterns and lay open activities that accommodate the student's learning. In this stamp of situation, the student and the teacher draw near to a mutual understanding and agreement. NCTM (2000a, 2000b 2000c; 2001a, 2001b 2001c) indicates recognizing and valuing students' cultural heritage significantly influences students' mathematical learning.

In this inquiry we use social interaction to mean norms and values negotiated and established implicitly and/or explicitly by the agency of the members of a local community (i.e., teacher, scholars and parents). In this faculty of perception understanding students' backgrounds is crucial for mathematics teaching and learning. As D'Ambrosio (2001) observ "An important composing of mathematics education today should be to reaffirm, and in more [i]or[/i] less instances to restore, the cultural dignity of children" (p 308)

There is a material substance of research focusing on the notion of ethnomathematics. According to this perspective, contributions made through people from various non-European tillages (i.e. Arabs, Asians, Hispanics, African Americans, etc) for mathematics advancement have not been given the attention they be entitled to (Ascher, 1994; Bishop, 1991; D'Ambrosio, 2001; Frankenstein, 1995; Nune 1992; Orey & Rosa, 2001; Secada, 1992; Zaslavsky, 1973) Zaslavsky (1973) asserted that the inquiry of ethnomathematics would benefit all learners who "learn to respect and appreciate the contributions of tribes in all parts of the world" (p 309)

This research investigation focuses on five 3rd grade students' (one African American stripling on African American girl, single Caucasian girl, one Asian stripling and one Middle Eastern boy) beliefs and practices towards mathematics learning as they interacted with each other in moot point solving, reasoning, communication, and mathematical representations. In addition, the investigation explored their parents' beliefs and values about education and attempted to examine the relationship between parents' expectations of their children's mathematics education and students' mathematics learning.

The five pupils were selected within a larger classroom community of 28 pupils They had been working together from the beginning of the academy year and were comfortable expressing their feelings and views among themselves. The selection of this particular cluster of students was based upon their diverse social and cultural backgrounds, their willingness to participate in the close attention their parents' interests and support for the investigation and their different levels of mathematical understanding.

The researchers were not seeking to generalize the relationship of agriculture and mathematics learning of these five learners instead, they were searching for a better understanding and interpretation of these five students' tillages and their mathematics learning. The ideas, issues, and situations neared in this study by the participants may help mathematics educators who face similar challenges in their classrooms.

The research questions are: (1) in what manner may students' attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics be influenced by dint of their parents' expectations? And, (2) in what manner may social interactions among pupils influence their mathematical understanding? In this paper, we discuss our theoretical and philosophical considerations, the research design and methodology, the students' attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics and their parents' expectations, and the teacher's part for establishing social norms and sociomathematical norms of the classroom.