We present three cases showing families' competence in mathematical problem solving as a practical aspect of daily life. At home, parents and children engaged creatively in solving math-relevant problems. They used a combination of everyday practices and school forms, but generally did not recognize mathematics in their problem solving. The findings invite new forms of participation that bring families into discussions of math-relevant situations and relates them to their children 's school math. [families, math, ethnography, daily practices, math in context] Karen: Okay, here comes Bernard. Evan: Bernard. What did he hit? Michael: He's got a little bit better average, he's at .277.While the family waited for game action, Michael asked Evan about his Little League statistics, drawing links between Evan's stats and those of professional players. Evan's stats were kept in a notebook he had with him, and he pointed to each column and announced what they represented (see Figure 2). Michael: You want to take a look at your stats? Can you tell me what all these were? Evan: Okay, that's hit by pitch.
Goldman and BookerMaking Math a Definition 377Michael: I'm glad there weren't a lot of those! Evan: One. At bats, there were 6, 9, 11. Michael: Oh, you didn't total it? Evan: Yea. That's hits, doubles, triples, home runs, base on balls, which is also known as walks, strike outs, average for the game, average for the season, runs I scored, RBIs, and stolen bases.Charting baseball stats was one way Evan was both becoming a legitimate player and fan of baseball, a process Michael supported during this game. It also practiced Evan on math skills through creating and using charts for record keeping and interpreting his progress. 6 Michael focused on the statistics, asking Evan which was his best batting average. Evan's answer of a .666 average in two games prompted a deeper look.Michael: How'd you get that? Evan: You do your hits, divided by your at bats.Evan used a simple formula to turn his raw stats into a batting average that told him how he did in a single game-or throughout a full season. His data handling indicated that he knew it wasn't just about numbers, but about which numbers were important in particular situations. When Michael asked which "at bats" were counted in the batting average figures, Evan answered:Evan: Yea, you don't count the walks, uhm. . . . Michael: You probably don't count the hit by a pitch. The reason why is, like if you get someone like Barry Bonds, they'll try to walk him all the time . . . and his average shouldn't go down just because they keep walking him.Michael integrated Evan's stats with an explanation of a similar situation for professional slugger, Barry Bonds. They talked about stats when players came up to bat, when there was a hit or an error, and when there was a paucity of game action. They covered Evan's progress, how the pro players were doing, and how the teams were comparing. Topics were generated in the moment and often in relation to what happened in the game. Figure 2. Ev...