Multicultural Mathematics Curriculum Unit - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Curriculum Teaching/Learning Unit Multicultural Mathematics Curriculum Unit Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 UNIT 4 Unit Description 4 Overarching Learning Goals 4 Practice/Process Learning Goals 5 Description of Students 6 2 – SEQUENCE OF LESSON PLANS 7 LESSON # 1 7 Learning Objectives 7 MAF Standard Code 7 Approximate Time 7 Materials Needed 7 Procedures 8 Assessment 9 Accommodation 9 Handouts 9 LESSON # 2 10 Learning Objectives 10 MAF Standard Code 10 Approximate Time 10 Materials Needed 10 Procedures 10 Assessment 11 Accommodation 11 Handouts 11 LESSON # 3 12 Learning Objectives 12 MAF Standard Code 12 Approximate Time 12 Materials Needed 12 Procedures 13 Assessment 13 Accommodation 13 Handouts 13 LESSON # 4 14 Learning Objectives 14 MAF Standard Code 14 Approximate Time 14 Materials Needed 14 Procedures 15 Assessment 15 Accommodation 16 Handouts 16 LESSON # 5 16 Learning Objectives 16 MAF Standard Code 16 Approximate Time 16 Materials Needed 16 Procedures 17 Assessment 17 Accommodation 18 Handouts 18 REFLECTION 19 REFERENCES 20 1 – UNIT DESCRIPTION Unit Description This curriculum teaching unit, particularly in the subject of mathematics is an effort to facilitate teachers and educators in providing lessons related to ‘probability’ in a middle school class. The theme of the unit is ‘World Cultural Tour/Carnival’. Students will be provided with opportunities to learn about different and diverse world cultures while studying and exploring the concept of probability in different classroom activities, which will be carried out as part of a world tour or a carnival with landing at a different location/culture. The unit promotes an environment of peer-to-peer learning along with self and peer assessment that will enhance various skills in students. In today’s globalized world, it has become very essential for teachers to ensure that students are able to relate every subject and learning with the life (Banks, 1999) and people around them that will allow mathematics to remain relevant in their lives even after completion of school and college studies. Nowadays, people from various cultures live and work together, which has transformed our world into a multicultural one and as a result, it has now become imperative to provide multicultural experiences to the students, which will help them play a constructive role in the society. Overarching Learning Goals Students will be able to learn about different and diverse world cultures. This will not only provide them the opportunity to learn about different cultures but will also promote and encourage respect and appreciation of others’ cultures. Students will be able to relate the notion of education, particularly mathematics as part of different cultures and not only American culture, and thus, students will be able to appreciate contribution of other cultures in the development of mathematics as a subject. Practice/Process Learning Goals Particularly, ‘connections’ is one of the five important standards according to the NCTM Mathematics Process Standards (NCTM, 2015), and thus, this unit will focus on this process standard of mathematics while allowing the students to connect probability concept with different and diverse cultures of the world. On the other hand, from the perspective of practice goals, this unit will achieve the following practice goals based on the standards provided by Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI, 2015): CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively Students will be able to make use of quantitative reasoning to understand and explain the events and problems in their context indicating the ability to contextualize (CCSSI, 2015). The students will also be able to understand the meaning of quantities and different properties of operations and objects. CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others Students will be able to understand and use mathematical assumptions in constructing arguments. They will be able to make conjectures (CCSSI, 2015) and build a logical progression of statements to explore the truth of their conjectures. CCSS.Math.Practice.MP6 Attend to precision Students will be able to communicate about mathematical terms and expressions with others. They will be able to calculate accurately and precisely while examining claims and assumptions during different events. Description of Students This teaching and learning unit will act as a supplementary unit in a probability class at a middle school. It is an assumption that the class will consist of twenty-six students of grade seven. The unit assumes a multicultural class having six Asian American, four Spanish, seven African American, two students with special needs, and seven students of Hispanic background. 2 – SEQUENCE OF LESSON PLANS This section of the curriculum teaching and learning unit will include five lesson plans as part of the ‘World Cultural Tour/Carnival’ theme for the probability class at a high school. LESSON # 1 Starting from Home: Native Americans and Probability Learning Objectives Students will be able to learn about the culture of Native Americans Students will be able to learn about the role of cultural activities in the development of mathematical concepts Students will be able to understand and differentiate between the concepts of simple and compound probability MAF Standard Code Cluster 3: Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models MAFS.7.SP.3.5: "Understand that the probability of a chance event is a number between 0 and 1 that expresses the likelihood of the event occurring" (MAFS, 2014, pg.45) Approximate Time One teaching and learning block of 45 minutes Materials Needed The teacher will require few materials to display culture of Native American. A PowerPoint presentation will be effective in telling students about the culture. Besides, for every group of four students, teacher will need: One rectangular container Six 2-sided dices Fifty-six toothpicks Four popsicle sticks Procedures Firstly, teacher will welcome everyone on board to tour different cultures of the world. To make the tour an entertaining and learning one, the teacher will then divide the students into groups of four. The teacher will then take all the groups to a gaming arena (can be a playing ground or another room for the sake of a tour), which will have set up from Native American culture. The teacher will then introduce the Native American game ‘Hubbub’ (Bruchac Bruchac, & Akweks, 2000) to the students that was their one of the very common games involving bowls and two-sided dices. The teacher will briefly tell the students about how Native Americans used to play this game using dices made up of bones, teeth, etc. The game involves tossing six dices at the same time and trying to get maximum same sides in the container, and the students will play this game in groups by dividing themselves in pairs to act as opponents. The pairs will take turns to shake the container and see how many similar sides each pair gets in every turn. Every pair will get to take one Popsicle stick when they will get all the six dice on the same side and three toothpicks by getting five similar sides. In case of lesser sides, the other team will take the turn. After finish of the sticks, the teams will calculate their points by giving two points for one toothpick and four points for a Popsicle stick. The team with highest points will win the carnival  The teacher will then ask students about their experiences during the game along with introduction of concepts of simple and compound probability in groups. Assessment The teacher will ask different questions related to simple and compound probability in groups, as well as related to the Native American culture. Accommodation The teacher will arrange two assistants to assist during the activity, particularly for students with special needs and for running PowerPoint presentation. Handouts The teacher will make use of PowerPoint presentation to show pictures of Native Americans and their cultures to add excitement. LESSON # 2 Closer to the Nature: Africa and Experimental Probability Learning Objectives Students will be able to learn about the African culture Students will be able to learn about the role of African cultural activities in the development of mathematical concepts Students will be able to understand the concepts of experimental and theoretical probability MAF Standard Code Cluster 3: Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models MAFS.7.SP.3.6: “Approximate the probability of a chance event by collecting data on the chance process" (MAFS, 2014, pg.46) Approximate Time One teaching and learning block of 45 minutes Materials Needed For each group of four, the teacher will require: One egg case Two bowls Pulses in quantity Procedures This time, the teacher will introduce students to the African culture and its game ‘Mancala’ (Culin, 2011) using PowerPoint presentation and/or charts. Mancala (Arneson, 2015) has become a very popular strategy-based game; therefore, it will be a source of entertainment plus learning for the students. The team with the most number of pulses will win the game. The teacher will then explain the concept of experimental and theoretical probability to the students Assessment The teacher will assess students’ understanding by giving different questions, such as: What is the probability that if your opponent team starts first, then your opponent team will win the game? What is the probability that if your opponent team starts first, then your opponent team will lose the game? The students will be required to discuss in groups and then give answers representing each group. Accommodation The teacher will arrange two assistants to assist during the activity, particularly for students with special needs and for running PowerPoint presentation. Handouts The teacher will provide handouts to each pair regarding rules and regulations of Mancala (Arneson, 2015) and will display it on the PowerPoint presentation. LESSON # 3 Trip to the Great Wall of China & Combinations Learning Objectives Students will be able to learn about the culture of China Students will be able to learn about the role of Chinese cultural activities in the development of mathematical concepts Students will be able to understand the concepts of combinations in probability MAF Standard Code Cluster 3: Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models MAFS.7.SP.3.6: “Approximate the probability of a chance event by collecting data on the chance process" (MAFS, 2014, pg.46) MAFS.7.SP.3.7: “Develop a probability model and use it to find probabilities of events." (MAFS, 2014, pg.46) Approximate Time One teaching and learning block of 45 minutes Materials Needed For each group of four, the teacher will require: A set of dominoes A paper and a pencil Procedures The teacher will introduce students to the Chinese culture and its game ‘Dominoes’ (Wong, 2014) using PowerPoint presentation and/or charts. The set of dominoes comes with rules and regulations that the students in groups will read and play the game accordingly while teacher will act as facilitator. The team with the highest points will win the game followed by the introduction of the concept of ‘combinations’ and its relation and use in calculating probability of different events. Assessment The teacher will give different suppositions to the groups, such as what will be the probability of getting two matching dominoes picked up randomly from a set of double six dominoes. The students will be required to discuss in groups and then give answers representing each group. Accommodation The teacher will arrange two assistants to assist during the activity, particularly for students with special needs and for running PowerPoint presentation. Handouts The teacher will provide rules and regulations of dominoes as a handout, as well as a handout defining combinations and its formulae as well that will help the students in calculating the probability. LESSON # 4 To the Hawaii: Sample Space and Probability Learning Objectives Students will be able to learn about the culture of Hawaii Students will be able to learn about the role of Hawaii culture in the development of mathematical concepts Students will be able to list sample space and calculate probabilities MAF Standard Code Cluster 3: Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models MAFS.7.SP.3.7: “Develop a probability model and use it to find probabilities of events." (MAFS, 2014, pg.46) MAFS.7.SP.3.7: “Compare probabilities from a model to observed frequencies; if the agreement is not good, explain possible sources of the discrepancy” (MAFS, 2014, pg. 46) Approximate Time One teaching and learning block of 45 minutes Materials Needed For each group of four, the teacher will require: Several buttons Markers Procedures The teacher will introduce students to the Hawaiian culture and its game ‘Lu-Lu’ (Leibs, 2004) using PowerPoint presentation and/or charts. The students will play this in groups of four while pairs as opponents. Each group will get four buttons with different marks as follows: Each pair will get the turn to shake these buttons in hand and toss them in the air. The buttons showing these marks will be counted. If all the four landing buttons will show the marks, the pair will get one more turn, and the first team scoring 100 points will win the game. After a game period, the teacher will then introduce the concept of ‘sample space’ and will discuss probabilities’ calculation. Assessment The teacher will assess students’ understanding by giving different questions, such as: What are the possible results of one turn? What is the maximum points that one team can make in a continuous turn? In how many ways can a team score fifty points? What is the probability of scoring fifty points? The students will be required to discuss questions in groups and then give answers after calculation of probabilities, which will be followed by inter-group discussions. Accommodation The teacher will arrange one assistant to assist during the activity, particularly for students with special needs and for running PowerPoint presentation. Handouts No need LESSON # 5 Icy Arctic: Experimental Probability Learning Objectives Students will be able to learn about the Arctic culture Students will be able to learn about the role of Arctic culture in the development of mathematical concepts Students will be able to apply and critique the concepts of experimental probability MAF Standard Code Cluster 3: Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models MAFS.7.SP.3.7: “Compare probabilities from a model to observed frequencies; if the agreement is not good, explain possible sources of the discrepancy” (MAFS, 2014, pg. 46) MAFS.7.SP.3.8: “Find probabilities of compound events using organized lists, tables, tree diagrams, and simulation” (MAFS, 2014, pg. 46) Approximate Time One teaching and learning block of 45 minutes Materials Needed For each group of eight, the teacher will require: 1 floor mat 8 Frisbees/flying discs Procedures The teacher will introduce students to the Arctic culture, particularly the way Eskimos live in the cold weather. Moreover, the teacher will then relate their culture with the game of ‘Bocce’ (Torkildsen, 2005) by showing video of this game using multimedia presentation. In this last event of the ‘World Tour’ unit, the groups will now compete with each other where they will try to land the disc near to the floor mat. Centre of the mat will give five points, whereas, touching the mat will give three points. The group will highest points at the end of twenty-five minutes will win the game. The teacher with the help of two assistants will instruct students to keep a note of different instances during the game, such as the number of times opponents’ disks were moved and whether it moved in a positive or negative direction. The teacher will discuss the concepts of experimental probability with students during and after the game. Assessment To evaluate students’ understanding related to experimental probability, the teacher will assess by giving different suppositions, such as: How many times your team was able to move opponent’s discs? How many moves resulted in negative points to your opponent? How many moves resulted in positive points to your opponent? Calculate the probability of a move resulting in a positive score to the opponent? Based on the above calculation, is it a good approach to try moving opponent’s disc? The students will then discuss their findings in groups and present them in a 3-minute group presentation. Accommodation The teacher will arrange two assistants to assist during the activity, particularly for students with special needs and for running PowerPoint presentation. Handouts No need REFLECTION This piece of work was a humble effort to design a mathematics curriculum unit incorporating multicultural educational perspective (Banks, 1999) that has now become an urgent need of today’s curriculum, especially after the globalization that has transformed our societies into a multicultural one. As a student of education, I designed this teaching and learning unit with the purpose of promoting multicultural education by considering diverse needs of students, as well as by integrating different cultures with the mathematical concepts. Particularly, this integration of culture with mathematics will facilitate achievement of one of the major goals of multicultural education that is to “help students including White mainstream students to develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes they will need to survive and function effectively in a future U.S. society” (Banks, 1999, pg. 23). In order to ensure transformation approach in the curriculum unit, I selected those cultural attributes and aspects of different world cultures that are present and in practice in today’s American society, and games were the best choice in this regard. For instance, some of the games were Dominoes, Bocce, and Mancala that are all very popular in the USA; however, at the same time, have a historical background to different cultures of the world. This integration in the curriculum will help the students to “view concepts…themes from the perspective of diverse ethnic and cultural groups” (Banks, 1999, pg. 31), and simultaneously, will facilitate teachers in fulfilling learning objectives as identified in the unit description, as well as in each lesson plan. REFERENCES Arneson, E. (2015). How to Play Mancala. Retrieved on April, 29, 2015: http://boardgames.about.com/cs/mancala/ht/play_mancala.htm. Banks, J. (1999). An Introduction to Multicultural Education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bruchac, J., Bruchac, J. & Akweks, K. (2000). Native American Games and Stories. Chicago: Fulcrum Publishing. CCSSI. (2015). Standards for Mathematical Practice. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved on April 28, 2015: http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/ Culin, S. (2011). Mancala: The National Game of Africa. South Carolina: Nabu Press. Leibs, A. (2004). Sports and Games of the Renaissance. San Francisco: Greenwood Publishing. MAFS. (2014). Mathematics Florida Standards. Retrieved on April 29, 2015: www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7575/urlt/mathfs.pdf NCTM. (2015). Principles and Standards. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Retrieved on April 28, 2015: http://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Principles-and-Standards/ Torkildsen, G. (2005). Leisure and Recreation Management. New York: Psychology Press. Wong, L. K. P. (2014). Dreaming across Languages and Cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Read More