Blown Away in the Wind of Change: Can Extinct School Folktales be awakened through Mathematics Storytelling in Nigerian Basic Education?

Abstract

AbstrakBercerita sering dianggap sebagai transfer pembelajaran yang kuno, khususnya bagi anak-anak. Penelitian ini mengadopsi desain penelitian survei sederhana untuk mengeksplorasi sejauh mana guru menggunakan cerita di kelas matematika tingkat pendidikan dasar di Nigeria. Penelitian ini dimulai dengan perumusan premis mengenai cerita tradisional yang semakin ditinggalkan oleh perubahan yang disebabkan karena penggunaan teknologi yang semakin pesat di suatu negara. Subjek penelitian ini adalah 38 guru matematika yang dipilih secara acak pada Sekolah Dasar Makurdi di Benue State, Nigeria. Analisis data diperoleh melalui Basic mathematics Storytelling Investigation (BMSI) yang mengungkapkan bahwa meskipun tingkat kesadaran bercerita yang tinggi sebagai pendekatan pengajaran di antara guru matematika, hanya sedikit 37% yang menggunakan cerita di kelas matematika mereka. Analisis tematik tambahan dari cerita yang dideskripsikan oleh guru menunjukkan bahwa cerita dapat digunakan untuk mengilustrasikan tujuan pembelajaran dan memotivasi peserta didik untuk aktif dalam pembelajaran. Hasil penelitian yang tidak sengaja diperoleh melalui metode kualitatif mengungkapkan bahwa pola khusus dari cerita yang diberikan oleh guru matematika cenderung jauh dari cerita rakyat lokal dan tradisi lisan. Selain itu, terdapat indikasi bahwa melalui ajakan secara sadar yang tepat, guru matematika SD tertarik untuk mengunakan cerita dalam praktik mengajar ke depan.Kata kunci: Bercerita, Pendidikan Dasar Nigeria, Cerita Rakyat, Etnomatematika, Budaya Abstract Storytelling has been severally regarded as the oldest method of instruction delivery, particularly for children. This study adopts a simple survey research design to explore the extent of storytelling usage by teachers in the mathematics classroom at the primary education level in Nigeria. The investigation was conducted on the premise that traditional folktales are heading down the path to extinction and are steadily being blown away in the wind of change being fanned by increasing technology penetration in the country. The participants of the study are 38 mathematics teachers drawn randomly from primary schools within Makurdi metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria. Analysis of data obtained through the Basic mathematics Storytelling Investigation (BMSI) revealed that despite the high level of awareness of storytelling as a teaching approach among mathematics teachers, only a meager 37% make use of stories in their mathematics classroom. Additional thematic analysis of stories described by the teachers showed that stories were used to illustrate learning points and motivate learners to action within the instructional context. An unintended outcome from the qualitative methods unveiled specific patterns of stories used by the mathematics teachers that are far from local folktales and oral traditions. There was also an indication that with an appropriate awareness campaign, primary mathematics teachers intend to use storytelling in their future teaching practice.

Design, Implementation and Assessment of a Web-Based Ethnomathematics Instructional Content Repository for Mathematics Teachers in Benue State, Nigeria

“…The Ethnomathematics Instructional Content Repository is a tool which projects the mathematical concepts and knowledge embedded in the real lives of the learners as well as in the cultural practices of their people. Frequent reference to history of Mathematics and mathematics storytelling by the instructional platform offers problem situations that learners can imagine and relate to as experientially real in their minds (Abah, Iji, & Abakpa, 2018). The content coverage of the repository intends to humanize mathematics for users, pointing them to ways through which students can re-invent Mathematics for themselves.…”

“…The choice of Benue State for this study was based on the evidence from literature that students, mathematics teachers and other critical stakeholders of mathematics education in Benue, like their counterparts from other parts of Nigeria, display a form of postmodern social codes which has relegated ordinary culture-based mathematics activities to the background, thereby further mystifying the subject (Abah, Iji & Abakpa, 2018;Dankaro & Agoom, 2015;Ezeigbo, 2013). Indigenous Benue generates its own particular mathematical knowledge by building on heritage, environment, religious beliefs, technological advances, artistic inclinations and how people make their living.…”

“…The approach does not restrict its reach to the mathematical knowledge of culturally distinct people, or people in their daily activities, but could focus on academic Mathematics through a social, historical, political and economic analysis of how Mathematics has become what it is today. Within this viewpoint, Ethnomathematics seeks to understand the historical development of Mathematics as a scientific discipline, the understanding of that development as the intersection between knowledge from different cultures and the validation of what is considered to be true mathematical knowledge (Abah, Iji, & Abakpa, 2018).…”

Exploitation des contes dans l’apprentissage des mathématiques au préscolaire

“…Alors que Aytekin (2011) a étudié l'exploitation du conte dans une classe de langue étrangère afin de développer les habiletés linguistiques générales et d'apprendre une langue étrangère dans un cadre ludique et agréable. Dans (Abah et al, 2018), les auteurs ont étudié l'usage de contes en classe par des enseignants de mathématique au niveau de l'enseignement primaire au Nigeria.…”