Teaching and Learning Creatively: Using Children's Narratives

Abstract

The Children's Math Worlds project seeks to integrate students' social, emotional, and cultural experiences into classroom mathematics. For seven years, we have been developing in classrooms a conceptually challenging researchbased mathematics curriculum called Children's Math Worlds (CMW) for kindergarten through grade 3. We build on the individual experiences, interests, and practical mathematics knowledge that diverse children bring to our classrooms. Our collaborative research project has been, and is being, carried out in urban schools of underrepresented minorities, mostly Latino English-speaking and Latino Spanish-speaking children, and in English-speaking upper-middle-class schools to ensure that our work crosses socioeconomic boundaries. The CMW family component was described in De La Cruz (1999). See that article for data concerning the excellent comparative performance of CMW children.

Influence Of Administrator Of Institutions On Students’ Academic Achievement In General Mathematics Between Mission – Government Partnered And Sole Government Administered Secondary Schools: Nigeria Perspective

“…Instruction that includes a student's culture in different ways is more likely to engage the student. In one example, students began with narratives of their home experiences in their own language as a basis for mathematics in the classroom (Lo Cicero, De La Cruz, and Fuson, 1999). The teachers and students used student stories and pictures from home to build math problems that are related to the students' everyday lives but served equally to advance their mathematical knowledge.…”