ED:January 2009 Site team Mathematics Education Report

From The Collaboratory

Mathematics Education Report Center for the Advancement of the Handicapped in Mahadaga, Burkina Faso January 2009

Dr Angela Hare, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Messiah College Bethany Blackwood (Mathematics with Certification, ’11) Jeff Slye (Mathematics with Certification, ’10)

This report is a summary of the work of the Education Group on mathematics education projects in a site visit to Mahadaga in January 2009. Our team of three students (a sub-team of the 13-person site team) came with the following objectives:

1. To determine educational levels and practices among families in the village of Mahadaga
2. To interact with local primary school teachers and share with them the U.S. mathematics curriculum and teaching strategies beyond lecture, such as the use of games and technology in the classroom.
3. To learn about Burkinabè (and French) national mathematics curriculum
4. To determine the level of interest among the teachers in using a specific educational technology tool (the Bee-Bot or Pro-Bot), modified for use in West Africa, to teach thinking skills in the classroom.
5. To continue classroom observation at the Handicapped Center and other local schools.

1. To determine educational levels and practices among families in the village of Mahadaga
2. To interact with local primary school teachers and share with them the U.S. mathematics curriculum and teaching strategies beyond lecture, such as the use of games and technology in the classroom.
   • On Monday, Jan. 12, we met with 10 area teachers, from the Handicapped Center school and also the SIM private school, for two hours. At this meeting, we presented an overview of topics learned in U.S. K-8 education. See Figure 1. We asked the teachers to compare this with topics covered in their educational curriculum and to modify the chart to reflect these differences. See Figure 2. What schools do they teach at? Anita Voelker talked about teacher vs. student responsibility, described by Madeline Hunter, based on her observations in classes at the Center. She said she saw evidence of the teacher she observed, Adjima N???, following this graph of good allocation of responsibility between the teacher and students during class time. (see figure 3)
   • Next, Jeff introduced the BeeBot and the values of technology in mathematics education. See the discussion under objective 4 in this report for more on this.
   • Finally, Bethany discussed advantages of using games in the classroom, showing the Cuisenaire rod kit and a ShaNuCo card as a starting point. They said that they do use games in the classroom, but never cards (they use pebbles). We don’t know exactly what they mean by using games, because we have never observed this, though we have often observed them using stones, bottle caps and sticks in the classroom but not for independent games. We gave the teachers and the Center several copies of Mancala, Qwirkle, Count Across, ShaNuCo (only 1), Tangramables, Cuisenaire Rods (2 kits), and a cribbage board with large, indented dice for the blind.
3. To learn about Burkinabe (French) national mathematics curriculum.
   • See Figures 1 and 2 in this report as well as relevant discussion above. The most interesting information we received from the teachers in this meeting is that the topics we typically teach 4-6 year-olds in the U.S., as well as what we teach 6-8 year-olds, must all be taught in the 6-8 yr. curriculum (CP 1&2), because most children here do not attend preschool (maternelle). This means that the CP 1&2 curriculum here includes quite a bit of material: the children are hit with a lot. We did learn that there is a program at the Handicap Center for children new to school, called something like ‘Ecole infantile’. Apparently it is the CP-1 curriculum, taught at an introductory level, and then the students receive the same curriculum again the following year in CP-1. Also, the Private SIM School has just started an Ecole Maternelle (preschool).
4. To determine the level of interest among the teachers in using a specific educational technology tool (the Bee-Bot or Pro-Bot), modified for use in West Africa, to teach thinking skills in the classroom.
   • Jeff introduced the BeeBot and the values of technology in mathematics education, specifically for the students at the Center (making use of light, sound, vibration, etc.). After demonstrating how to use the BeeBot to make a square, he distributed one BeeBot to each group of 2-3 teachers. The teachers learned how to use the BeeBots, which showed their interest and enthusiasm. Some were able to understand the ability to make rectangles, and thus being able to use them in working on perimeter. Teacher enthusiasm shows hope for student enthusiasm if such a product were to be used in the classroom. We specifically asked if this type of technology would be too much stimulation for students in the classroom, but they said it would not. (It should be noted that the BeeBot is not suitable for conditions in schools here. The wheels would need to be modified for uneven, bumpy and sandy surfaces. Chantal is specifically interested in something that her blind children could put their hand on to feel different shapes.)
5. To continue classroom observation at the Handicapped Center and other local schools.
   • Possibilities for future work in Mahadaga: The teachers at the Handicap Center and the Private School were very interested in the possibility of bringing technology devices like the Bee-bot into their classrooms. They seemed to be very interested in future collaboration. This is encouraging for the possibility of the NCIIA-funded 3-year project.
   • I (Angela) believe that it would be very beneficial for the teachers at the Handicap Center to spend some time in France, working with special education teachers there. The teachers here seem to be excellent, and it would be encouraging for them to learn about state of the art technology and to receive affirmation. This would be a great opportunity for education majors at Messiah who know some French to join the teachers in France and learn from them. This would have to be fully funded for the Burkinabè teachers.

During our time here, the team had interesting (frustrating) exchanges with Fulani women who were trying to sell us necklaces, hotpads, and straw mats. These exchanges shed light on the lack of arithmetic understanding in the Fulani population (many of whom are unschooled) and gave me the idea of conducting a training workshop for Fulani women & girls. There are many things we would have to find out from missionaries here before planning something like this, such as what would motivate a Fulani woman to attend. What we observed is that when the women sell to us on the road or at the house, they lack understanding of how to put quantities together. For example, if we ask how much a straw mat costs (say 2000 cfa) and then ask how much a necklace is (say 4000), they are confused if we buy both with a combination of a 5000 and a 1000 bill. What they want is for us to pay them 4000 and 2000, not 5000 and 1000. This makes commerce very confusing, especially because it is very difficult to get small bills and coins in the country. Often, what they will do instead of accepting the 5000 and 1000 is try and make another deal with us, such as adding a woven potholder and offering us the three things for 8000. Trying to explain that ‘No: I don’t want the third item’ or ‘I don’t have exactly 8000’ is exasperating, and if we walk away, the women are frustrated that we expressed interest without buying.