An Ethnomathematical Perspective of STEM Education in a Glocalized World

Abstract

An Ethnomathematics-based curriculum helps students demonstrate consistent mathematical processes as they reason, solve problems, communicate ideas, and choose appropriate representations through the development of daily mathematical practices. As well, it recognizes connections with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Our pedagogical work, in relation to STEM Education, is based on the Trivium Curriculum for mathematics and ethnomodelling, which provides communicative, analytical, material, and technological tools to the development of emic, etic, and dialogic approaches that are necessary for the elaboration of the school curricula. STEM Education facilitates pedagogical action that connects ethnomathematics; mathematical modelling, problem-solving, critical judgment, and making sense of mathematical and non-mathematical environments, which involves distinct ways of thinking, reasoning, and developing mathematical knowledge in distinct sociocultural contexts. The ethnomathematical perspective for STEM Education proposed here provides a transformative pedagogy that exposes its power to transform students into critical and reflective citizens in order to enable them to transform society in a glocalized world.

Networking Between Ethnomathematics, STEAM Education, and the Globalized Approach to Analyze Mathematical Connections in Daily Practices

“…From this point of view, our research has sought to extend previous attempts to articulate some of these theories, such as the study by Rosa and Orey (2021), where they approached an ethnomathematical perspective of the STEM approach with different examples. In our case, the connections that emerge in various daily practices from the articulation between ethnomathematics, STEAM education, and the globalized approach have been analyzed so that, based on the joint analysis of the role of culture, interdisciplinarity and the understanding of reality, the current understanding about the role of mathematics and its use can be improved.…”

“…Some authors had already begun to establish some partial articulations between the constructs addressed in this study. For example, Rosa and Orey (2021) consider it important to work on STEM from an ethnomathematical perspective, since they mention that:…”

Mathematics Concepts in Making Kites as a Tool in Ethno-STEM Based Learning

“…That is, the shape, has a shape like that plane..., for example this is a triangle, until here it is square, the first to be assembled is a rectangle, which is four bars (...), this here forms a right angle, I put a square here It should be noted that, in contrast to other theoretical networks that have focused on argumentative grammar (Tabach et al, 2020), on exploring the idea of the mathematical object in greater detail (Font Moll et al, 2016), or on describing the idea of mathematical connection as the tip of an iceberg consisting of a conglomerate of practices, processes, objects, and semiotic functions that relate them (Rodríguez-Nieto et al, 2022). From this vantage point, our research has aimed to expand on earlier attempts to formulate some of these theories, such the work of Rosa and Orey (2021), which used several instances to approach an ethnomathematical perspective of the STEM method. In our instance, the relationships that arise in different everyday practices from the articulation between STEAM education, ethnomathematics, and the globalized approach have been examined in order to enhance the current understanding of mathematics' function and application based on a joint examination of the role of culture, interdisciplinary research, and reality understanding.…”

Conexiones etnomatemáticas en el aula: implementación de una secuencia etnomatemática basada en la pesca del sur de Chile

“…Para el diseño de estas tareas, se considera el estudio de los fenómenos matemáticos dentro de su cultura, con el objetivo de conectar estos saberes relevantes dentro de la actividad con el currículo de matemática, promoviendo un diálogo entre los conocimientos matemáticos émicos desde la cultura y los conocimientos matemáticos éticos desde la perspectiva externa de investigadores y educadores (Rosa y Orey, 2021). En este sentido, las conexiones etnomatemáticas curriculares resultan ser recursos didácticos que son fuente de las tareas etnomodeladas de una secuencia etnomatemática.…”