Ethnomathematics...

From Page B11 indigenous culture is used to teach mathematics the subject would be easier to comprehend especially for the target learners who belong to a particular culture or indigenous group. For instance, if the basic concept of numbers is taught in the context of building a bamboo footbridge, then perhaps, learners will easily understand that the higher the number of bamboo planks used would equate to better stability.

Tr a n s l a t e t h i s i n t o a mathematical perspective then the basic mathematical concept of the consequences of increasing and decreasing numbers becomes easier to grasp. This is a simple demonstration of how the cultural practices of a people can improve comprehension of mathematics if the mathematical concepts are interwoven with the indigenous knowledge that indigenous people already know. In effect, if the indigenous culture was used to teach math to learners who belong to a particular culture, math would no longer be something new for them, instead, it would merely be a component of the culture that they already know and love. Math, in this respect, will no longer seem intimidating; instead, they will seek to learn more of it as it is intertwined in their culture. The implications of this perspective in the teaching of math are great. Math can become a subject matter that is no longer strange to learners but a vital component in everything that they do, which it already is, it’s just that most have failed to see math in this way.

Math has always been the villain in most if not all rosters of subjects for learners. Ethnomathematics can change the way we see math and encourage learners to be more open to the secrets and mysteries that math can unlock. Culture can even be vital in understanding even the more complex maths, for instance, the “Pythagorean theorem: Mangyan do not cross the river in a straight line. They start from point A on the other side of the river, and wade and move at an angle with the current until they arrive at point B across the river…they cross the river along the hypotenuse or the longest side of (an imaginary) right triangle” (Llaneta, 2017). In this particular example, it is not only math that takes center stage but also physics; how or why is it easier to cross the river along the hypotenuse?

Clearly, the use of indigenous culture in the study and teaching of math is a breakthrough for the field of education. Through ethnomathematics, learners will realize that math is not really an alien object that makes their existences difficult, but a utility knife they should have in their pockets at all times that would make life exponentially easier. (Paid article)