Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms

Language can be simultaneously both a support and a hindrance to students’ learning of mathematics. When students have sufficient fluency in the mathematics register so that they can discuss their ideas, they become chiefs who are able to think mathematically. However, learning the mathematics register of an Indigenous language is not a simple exercise and involves many challenges not only for students, but also for their teachers and the wider community. Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms identifies some of the challenges—political, mathematical, community based, and pedagogical— to the mathematics register, faced by an Indigenous school, in this case a Maori immersion school. It also details the solutions created by the collaboration of teachers, researchers and community members.

Tamsin Meaney has worked as a teacher in many situations, which have made her consider the relationship between language and mathematics learning. These include working with ESL students at a Technical and Further Education College in Sydney; Aboriginal students at schools in remote communities in the Northern Territory of Australia; teachers in the Republic of Kiribati while writing junior secondary mathematics textbooks; and parents and teachers of a Maori immersion school in New Zealand. Her present research continues her work with the Kura Kaupapa Maori o te Koutu with the teachers on language issues in regard to mathematics education. She now works at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.Tony Trinick has worked in a range of mathematics education developments in the medium of Maori. These include the development of the first Indigenous mathematics curriculum in the Maori language, a range of professional learning opportunities for pre-service and in-service teachers in Maori medium contexts and the development of the Maori medium mathematics register. These developments have highlighted the many linguistic challengers that impact on the teaching and learning of mathematics in the medium of Maori. He works at the Faculty of Education, the University of Auckland. His current research investigates the mathematics register usage in Maori medium contexts, the implications for learning and teaching and unique linguistic and cultural aspects of the register.Uenuku Fairhall has been principal and teacher of a Maori immersion school in Rotorua, New Zealand, since 1998. Previously he had been involved with kohanga reo (language nest early childhood centres) and secondary school immersion units. Uenuku, along with Tony Trinick, was part of the team that developed the Maori mathematics register and curriculum. He was also a coordinator and translator for senior examinations and standards. His other interests include the composition of Maori song lyrics and writing, having twice won the national prize for the writing of a short story in Maori.kohanga reo (language nest early childhood centres) and secondary school immersion units. Uenuku, along with Tony Trinick, was part of the team that developed the Maori mathematics register and curriculum. He was also a coordinator and translator for senior examinations and standards. His other interests include the composition of Maori song lyrics and writing, having twice won the national prize for the writing of a short story in Maori.