Transnational Alliances:La Clase Mágica—NepohualtzitzinEthnomathematics Club

Abstract

This article exposes the ancient Nepohualtzitzin as an important contemporary mathematical tool. The design and development of Nepohualtzitzin Ethnomathematics Clubs (NECs) in predominantly Latina/o and low-income schools is also presented. NECs provide informal learning opportunities to develop and strengthen cultural connections to and abilities in mathematics for biculturalbilingual learners, their parents, and teacher candidates. The formation of NECs is made possible through transnational alliances developed over time between the University of Texas at San Antonio, Este artículo expone el antiguo Nepohualtzitzin como herramienta matemática importante y contemporánea. También se incluye el diseño y desarrollo de clubs etnomatemáticos (NECs). Los NECs proveen oportunidades para desarrollar y fortalecer las condiciones culturales y las habilidades matemáticas para los aprendices biculturales y bilingües, sus padres, y docentes. La formación de NECs es posible debido a las alianzas transnacionales que se han desarrollado a través del tiempo entre la

Ethnomathematics Thought and Its Influence in Mathematical Learning

“…The United States is the most multicultural country in the world with a history of education that cannot be separated from racial issues and has produced various negative effects. Reconciliation and constructive efforts using culture-based learning have shown significant results on traditional mathematical knowledge (Pinxten & François, 2011;Powell, 2002;Prieto & Claeys, 2015). This also at the same time relieves the tension experienced by students in the classroom by providing wider acceptance of differences in social and cultural backgrounds.…”

STEM access for Latina bilingual teacher candidates: Discrimination en la educación How do informal programs motivate women to pursue STEM related

“…The Nahuas used mathematics to explain the connection among humankind, nature, and the cosmos. Specifically, in the case of the Nepo, while a tool for numerical computation, it symbolizes the Nahua cosmovision with its use of sacred numbers synchronizing humankind, nature, and the cosmos (Prieto, Claeys and Lara, 2015). For example, a base of 20 is used because as human beings we have twenty digits (fingers and toes); it uses the sacred number 13 because it reflects the phases of the moon as well as the major joints in the human body.…”

“…For example, a base of 20 is used because as human beings we have twenty digits (fingers and toes); it uses the sacred number 13 because it reflects the phases of the moon as well as the major joints in the human body. The Nepo is held in a vertical manner to acknowledge transcendence of thought and mind towards the cosmos (Prieto, Claeys and Lara, 2015). Exposing future bilingual teachers to the Mesoamerican pedagogies and allowing them to connect with STEM practices, but also their culture, poses a new approach of looking at and working with STEM.…”

“…As part of a bilingual teacher preparation program in CA, teachers took part in a STEM related seminar, a follow up questionnaire, and activities that analyzed their views on STEM, but also shed light on the ways in which schools have not promoted STEM related activities. 35 teacher candidates took part in a training on the Nepohualzitzin Ethnomathematics Club (NEC), which is one of three Academy for Teacher Excellence research-based after-school programs under the umbrella of La Clase Mágica (LCM)(Prieto, Claeys and Lara, 2015). LCM@UTSA, modeled afterVasquez' (2003) California community-based LCM after-school programs, promotes bilingualism and cultural revitalization through the integration of technology among young learners, teacher candidates, undergraduate student-mentors and club sponsorsteachers.…”

Mathematics classroom talk in a migrating world : synthesizing epistemological dimensions

“…Although migration is increasing globally, surprisingly few studies connect mathematics education and migration directly. For instance, the research I found when I searched for mathematics education AND migration in the ERIC database (34 hits) covered the 51 following topics, ranging from the most common to the least; achievement gaps (e.g., Neseth, Savage, & Navarro, 2009;Verhaeghe, Vanlaar, Knipprath, De Fraine, & Van Damme, 2018), teacher mobility (e.g., de Villiers & Weda, 2017;Williams, 2008), student mobility (e.g., Robertson & Graven, 2015) web-based communication (e.g., Lloyd, 2003), epistemology (Krugly-Smolska, 2004;Prieto, Claeys, & González, 2015), and socio-politics (Gutstein, 2007). In addition, a number of articles addressed teaching mathematics by investigating zoological migration such as that of birds or whales, (e.g., Forrest, Schnabel, & Williams, 2007).…”