Of native kids and low maths grades
Published on: Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Kuching: A majority of indigenous students do not perform well in maths probably due to issues with language, says mathematics professor Dr Wilfredo Alangui.He said indigenous communities, in fact, already have their own numerical concepts embedded in their language which are not found in conventional mathematics.He cited the Maori in New Zealand for whom numbers are not merely an adjective.ADVERTISEMENT "In conventional mathematics, if you say three cows, 'three' there is just an adjective. You'd basically just describe a group of cows that happen to be three. "But for the Maoris, when they say three in their language, it carries a meaning of a dynamic relationship," said Dr Wilfredo after presenting his paper entitled "Diverse Indigenous Languages, Diverse Ways of Mathematical Thinking" at the Second Malaysian Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education.He said their traditional mathematical concepts which are embedded in their languages for ages have not been understood by the dominant society especially the education system.ADVERTISEMENT "I think this is why many indigenous children do not perform well in maths. The teaching of the subject has not been taught within the context of the community in which their children are already very familiar with," he said.On this note, Dr Wilfredo, who belongs to the Kankana-ey people in the Cordillera region, northern Philippines, urged teachers to first do their research and develop their understanding about a community's concepts in maths in order to help their students to do better in the subject.
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Year in and year out, public examination results have often shown low passing rate among indigenous students incuding in Sabah, in mathematics, a subject which is mandatory for them to pass in order to excel academically.It is generally believed that most Chinese students do well in maths because it is being taught in concepts embedded in their language.Dr Wilfredo said other than just helping their children to perform better in maths or other subjects, a willingness to understand the mathematical concepts found in their language may even provide answers to some of the society's complex problems."They can, in fact, enrich our understanding of the world," he said, citing the traditional practice of a rice farming community in the Philippines who has developed and used their own mathematical concept for the past 200 years to accurately ensure that every plot of rice field situated on the mountain gets equal amount of water.He said many modern day-trained engineers were amazed by their knowledge. He also cited another example whereby indigenous communities in Alaska developed modules for the teaching of maths to their children from the building of fish racks. "The (community) elders gave the information to the teachers which was later developed for maths lessons. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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It later turned out so good that the students performed better in school," he said.More than 200 indigenous delegates from around the country participated in the conference to determine how indigenous education can look like in Malaysia.