The Numeracy Circles process provides a framework for students to be presented with a problem to solve within a familiar context and, by playing different roles, students are involved in digging out and thinking about the mathematics and numeracies in different ways. With their new learning they are encouraged to consider new contexts for applying the newly learned mathematics.
The Numeracy Circles process provides a framework for students to be presented with a problem to solve within a familiar context and, by playing different roles, students are involved in digging out and thinking about the mathematics and numeracies in different ways. With their new learning they are encouraged to consider new contexts for applying the newly learned mathematics.
Students take on these roles:
Artful Artist is encouraged to construct mental images of the problem solving and to illustrate or make a representation of it.
Creative Connector finds connections between the task and the world outside and encourages personal con textualisation and connections.
Discussion Director writes down some good questions they think the group would want to talk about (and considers possible answers) and poses problems.
Numeracy Luminary selects parts of the task that they want to talk about with their group.
Word Wizard looks for special words, language and literacies to describe what they've done
This unit of work is designed for educators working with Indigenous learners but is certainly relevant for all learners from primary and middle years through to TAFE students as the learning can be extended or modified to suit age and diversity. It takes one of the rich, mathematical problem solving tasks from the Interactive Numeracies: maths situations in everyday Indigenous family and community life resource and outlines some teaching ideas based on the Numeracy Circles process.
Interactive Numeracies allows learners to intuit and interpret mathematics using their own cultural tools. I t provides space for them to think about and describe mathematics using home language, and then mathematical language to re-describe it.
