Practice Informed by Life Experiences

There were no math textbooks when I started at Macy in 1973.  I created from scratch all high school math units based on my own mathematics experience.  That is, the math and math education courses taken for my teaching degree at Morningside plus what I learned and observed in high school classes was everything I knew.  I knew, however, what students were required to know about math.

I set out to understand what my students experienced in their life in order to relate math to them.  Early on, I constructed math lessons based on contemporary media of the time.  For example, some of Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoons had a math theme.  I would relate these popular cartoon strip stories to math problems solved via systematic method.  Harold Jacobs’ book using advertisements for the Volkswagen Beetle was a teaching tool on logically incorrect statements.  Game playing was a method for learning basic math facts.  In time, as textbooks became more available, these math units accumulated to form the curriculum.  My methods of teaching were tailor-made to each individual learner, learning style, and pace.

Today, textbooks serve as useful guidance to what students need to know.  Students need to see learning expectations in terms of content-knowledge requirements in math.  The teaching and learning of math, however, must still be relevant to the student.

In my 30 years of teaching high school math, I have concluded that the life experiences each student brings to class informs my practice of teaching math with high expectations.  I observe everyday youths attempting to reconcile the cross-road of being taught important indigenous knowledge at home and by the Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation community, necessary western sciences and math in the classroom, and the realities of living with largely urban-centered cultural influences.  My personal interest in the well being of each student shapes the responsibilities of teaching math.  I make sure every student receives individual attention in order to gain a better understanding of how to use math as an everyday life skill.

Believe in Yourself

My life experiences also affirm this belief about practice informed by experiences of each student.  Everyone can point to the influential teacher.  I was blessed to have more than one.  My first was Mrs. Lang, my  9th grade algebra instructor, who allowed some students to work independently in class.  Math was never difficult for me before, but she gave me confidence in allowing me to learn on my own.  Another high school math teacher, who later chaired the math department at the University of South Dakota, piqued an interest in math.  Mr. Karantinos was a Greek immigrant.  My family emigrated from Germany when I was almost three.  The connection is that Mr. Karantinos provided me with individualized attention, and tailored math teaching to my life experiences.  He also believed in my abilities.  Probably unknown to him, I grew up with English as my second language, which is why I was introverted in high school.  The individual attention made every difference in my interest to pursue math studies in college.

At Morningside College, I had intentions to use math and logic to form a career in computer programming.  It fit my personality type of the time.  My choice was influenced by three college professors.  Mr. McDonald showed me that mathematics and programming were useful.  He had degrees in these areas, as well as in meteorology.  Dr. Muller, a woman, was head of the math department.  She was the exemplary role model, contributing to my belief that there was not a lack of female achievement in mathematics as was—and still is—the general belief.   A Taiwanese professor named Mr. Fan, who  taught advanced calculus courses, helped me to try harder to understand other people.  First impressions were not always correct.  I graduated from Morningside in 1969 and started teaching at Macy in 1973.  There, Dr. Ross confided in me that I had chosen the right profession: although I was good in programming, I preferred interaction with people.

I finished work on a Masters degree 20 years after receiving my Bachelor’s degree.  The time gap illustrates the disadvantages of distance between the rural classroom and available graduate coursework.  Local colleges did not offer secondary math graduate degrees.  Wayne State College was 45-minutes away, but did not offer graduate courses in math education.  The University of South Dakota, also 45 minutes away, did not offer math graduate classes at night or during summer school.  In 1986, I gained acceptance in Nebraska Math Scholars Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which was supported by a National Science Foundation grant, and received Masters degree in 1989.  The idea of thematic approaches to math education instilled during this time was relevant to my teaching experiences in Macy.

I know math is not something left behind at the end of a 48-minute class.  It is in everyday life now, and always will be.  I have seen too many situations where rote memorization and standardized texts fail students in developing math competencies.  The applications of math must be relevant to what young people face today.  “Critical thinking” skills used in mathematics, such as algebra, must be transferable to address the complexities of adult life.  I know that when students see math in their lives, then they will use mathematic skills to solve real-life personal and social issues.  The complexity of life, community, and work determines mathematical applications, whether it is geometry, algebra, or calculus.

I have experienced too many students who see math as unnecessary unless you plan to be an engineer, a doctor, a NASA scientist, or an accountant.  While recent high school graduates received full-ride scholarships to pursue these careers, local role models are few for young people to see themselves in these professional opportunities.  They turn interests elsewhere or entirely lose interest in school, even though each student is capable of achieving high learning standards in math.

Math in Life-Affirming Experiences

I felt better ways of teaching math had to be discovered and applied to students on the Omaha Indian Reservation.  I know that standardized math curriculum and lecture-oriented instruction is failing to build math competencies for these youths.  In 1999, the Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools incorporated in middle and secondary grades an education model known as Expeditionary Learning from Outward Bound (ELOB).  This model  affirmed my beliefs about the practice of math education.

ELOB engages students in learning “expeditions”—long-term, in-depth single topic or thematic studies.  Learning is authentic or relevant by taking place in the communities.  High academic standards that meet Nebraska LEARNS Standards are reinforced through interaction in the community and with parents, grandparents, and cultural leaders in the community.  Individualized and group learning experiences allow students to set personal expectations of achievement.  Teachers work directly with each student to regularly assess, revise, and improve their work.

For example, three years ago Crystal Klein, the high school science teacher, and I received ELOB training to create the “Plant Ecology & Statistics” course, offered during the fall semester.  Some of the learning goals include students knowing:

§ How to identify plants common to the Omaha Indian Reservation

§ How to collect, prepare, and label plant samples

§ What plants are traditionally used by the Omaha Indians

§ How plants are prepared

§ Where plants are located

§ What plants look like

Students use Microsoft Excel to record and analyze plant population data and to demonstrate how statistics is useful to math and science.  By using prairie grassland fields familiar to students and joining that familiarity with the field of math, these youths calculate probabilities of independent events, find probability from normal distribution information, make predictions given regression line equation, and test a hypothesis.  Each student completes an ethno-botanical report on at least three plants traditionally used by the Omaha Indians.  The collection of reports has become a community resource book entitled “Ethno-botanical Report: Plants of the Omaha Indian Reservation.”  In addition, a paper on the student’s statistical findings is written.

This process has affirmed my belief: hands-on, active learning works best to engage students in learning.  As a teacher, I get to discover what students know, how they learn, and what support is required to improve their learning.  Each student receives individual attention.  Together we establish a learning environment wherein students receive better opportunities to see math in their lives, and excel at applying math content and skills in various settings.  It also creates a richer environment for teaching math, and improving upon math instruction and curriculum.

This style of learning math, understanding its use in everyday life, and applying it to improve self-development of each student covers  seven Nebraska math standards, and 16 Nebraska science standards.  Students develop an understanding of matter, energy, and organization of living ecosystem.  They also come to understand that math matters in the organization of one’s own life.

Students may not immediately see themselves as present day statisticians, field researchers, ethno-botanists, authors, and natural scientists.  In course, they will reflect on experience and observe the necessity of math.  I have.

We invite you to respond to this story or share your own.  If you are interested in submitting a story from the field contact us at gholson@cloh.net