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Open-access
E-journal for
International Scholars, Practitioners, and Students of Multicultural
Education
ISSN:
1559-5005
Copyright © 1999-2006 by
Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education
THIS
ISSUE
(FALL 2004: vol. 6, no. 2)
Theme:
Multicultural
Curriculum for Math and Science
ARTICLES:
Daria •
Mukhopadhyay & Henze
INSTRUCTIONAL
IDEAS:
Gaylord •
Lee
REVIEWS:
Art
•
Books
•
Multimedia
CONTRIBUTORS
+++
Previous Issues
Call for Papers
Call for Reviewers
Issue Themes
Acknowledgments
About EMME
About the Editors
Heewon Chang, Ph. D.
Editor-in-Chief
Linda
Stine, Ph. D.
Copy Editor
Hwa Young
Caruso, Ed. D. & John Caruso, Jr. , Ph. D.
Art Review Editors
Leah Jeannesdaughter Klerr
Assistant Editor
Eastern
University
Education
Department
1300 Eagle Road
St. Davids, PA,
19087-3696
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BOOK REVIEWS(provided by the
editorial staff of EMME unless indicated otherwise)
Literature for Young Readers
Demi.
(1997). One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale. New
York, NY: Scholastic.
40 pp., ISBN: 0-590-93998-X $19.95 (ages 6-10).
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Based on a popular folktale from India,
this book tells the story of a raja who becomes greedy
and a mathematically savvy girl, Rani, who saves her
people from the raja's greed. The people of his land are
starving, yet the raja refuses to distribute the rice in
the storehouses that the people have been turning over
to him for years. The clever Rani wins a favor of the
raja and initially asks for only one grain of rice. The
raja protests that this is too small of a reward. So
Rani proposes that he give her one grain on the first
day and subsequently double the number of grains from
the previous day for 30 days. The raja still thinks that
the girl is so foolish to ask for too little; so he
agrees. Illustrating the impact of exponential growth,
the story takes the reader through Rani's 30 days and
how mathematically her collection grew to over one
billion grains of rice, which she fed to all of the
starving people. The book includes a chart at the end of
the powers of two on which the math in the story is
based. This delightfully illustrated multicultural book
could convey the message to children that mathematics,
when used wisely, can bring about positive changes in
lives of people. |
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Haskins, Jim (1991).
Count Your Way Through China. Minneapolis, MN:
Carolrhoda Books.
ISBN: 1-5750-5003-3 (hc), $14.95 (ages 4-8).
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This book, one of 15 books
in the series, teaches the reader how to count from one
through ten in the Mandarin Chinese language. Thirteen
books in the series cover individual countries, while
two cover regions such as the Arab World and Africa.
Each book opens with a short explanation of how the
language developed and, if it is not the only language
spoken in the region, why it was selected as the
language to represent that region. This section also
explains if the written characters are alphabetical or
pictographical. As the book goes through each numeral,
it relates that number to some cultural, historical,
geographical, or social significance. For younger
children, this series of books will help teachers
integrate world cultures into fundamental math lessons
of counting in such a fun and educational way. |
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Slocum,
Jerry (2003). The Tangram Book: The Story of the Chinese
Puzzle with Over 2000 Puzzles to Solve. New York:
Sterling Publishing.
192 pp., ISBN: 1-4027-0413-5 (hc), $19.95 (ages 10-adult)
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Defying the myth that Mr.
Tan invented the puzzle several thousand years ago, the
author undertook rigorous historical research involving
scholars and puzzle experts who could read Chinese,
French, Dutch, and German. His research team discovered
that Mr. Tan did not exist but that the puzzle was
invented by a Chinese "dim-witted recluse" at the
beginning of the Ch'ing dynasty between 1796 and 1820
according to an authoritative Chinese encyclopedia. The
book documents the tangram craze that spread in Asian
and European countries following the invention. This
informative book provides a comprehensive history of the
development of tangram in China, England, France, the
United States, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden,
and Denmark. Every page of the book is illustrated with
vivid photographs of historical documents and tangram
objects from various countries. Completed with over
2,000 puzzles and solutions, the book can truly boast to
be "the" tangram book. The authorship of Mr. Slocum, a
well-known puzzle collector and researcher, adds
credibility to the book. Both youth and adults may find
this book informative and entertaining. This book can
also be used to build a bridge between a math and a
history lesson. |
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St. John,
Jetty (1996). Native American Scientists: Fred Begay, Wilfred
F. Denetclaw Jr., Frank C. Dukepoo, Clifton Poodry, Jerrel Yakel.
Mankato, MN: Capstone
Press. 48 pp., ISBN: 1-560-65359-0, $17.95 (ages 9-12).
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Beginning with a chapter
devoted to explaining what defines a scientist, this
book tells the life stories of five Native American
scientists. Each life story details the person's
chronological history and explores how their Native
American experience has intersected with their studies
and career. From formative experiences with a medicine
man to struggles with ethical issues arising from the
different worldviews of the science community and the
First Nation, each story demonstrates how their Native
American identity influenced their scientific pursuits.
Accounts of the scientists' early experiences in "White
schools" (boarding schools designed during the first
half of the 1900's to assimilate Native Americans into
the mainstream society) will hopefully urge readers to
learn more about the history of Native American politics
and oppression. The book also explains in some depth the
important research each of these scientists is working
on. Throughout the text, science terminology is
highlighted in bold, and a helpful glossary of these
bolded terms is provided at the end. This non-fictional
book of contemporary Native Americans will complement
the literature of traditional Native American cultures. |
Professional Literature
Ballin, Amy;
Benson, Jeffrey; Burt, Lucile (1993). Trash Conflicts: A
Science and Social Studies Curriculum on the Ethics of Disposal.
Cambridge, MA:
Educators for Social Responsibility. 220 pp., ISBN:
0-942-34906-7 (pbk) $28.00
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This collection of hands-on
activities provides a practical and comprehensive guide
to middle school science and social studies instruction,
focusing on waste-related environmental issues. In the
first two chapters, authors introduce various concepts
and methods of trash management and explore the impacts
of trash disposal, especially " hazardous waste," on the
environment. The third and forth chapters may be of a
particular interest to teachers who intend to integrate
social justice issues into science curriculum and to
encourage students to act on their learning. The
discussion of "environmental racism" will raise
teachers' and students' awareness of social injustice
demonstrated by the frequent placement of waste disposal
sites in minority-populated areas. The last chapter
adopts the "social action" approach, which helps
students make a difference to the health of the
environment at the personal and societal level. Each
activity, written in a lesson plan format and
complemented by background reading materials and
handouts, can be readily implemented in class. While
these materials are very informative and useful for
instruction, the quality of printing of some reproduced
materials is too poor to be useful in class. |
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Barton, Angela
Calabrese; Ermer, Jason L.; Burkett, Tanahia A.; Osborne,
Margery D. (2003). Teaching Science for Social Justice.
New York, NY:
Teachers College Press. 208 pp., ISBN: 0-807-74383-6 $23.95
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This is
an important work for anyone who has pondered teaching
science in a critical and relevant manner. Criticizing
the "banking" approach of science education that
emphasizes teaching facts and formulas and engaging
students in mundane labs to validate these facts and
formulas, Calabrese-Barton et al. argue that a critical
model will make science relevant and accessible to
students, especially those who live in the margins of
society. The critical model is grounded on their view
of science as an activation of social and material
resources in order to exert power in addressing a
perceived problem. The authors apply their definition
of science to after-school science programs operated in
two urban homeless shelters. Several case studies serve
as a window into these after-school programs. Through
the programs students learn to recognize challenges
inherent in their shelter life and to work on problems
relevant to their situation with the limited resources
they have. These students' scientific endeavors counter
the usual notion that shelter-bound students have
knowledge deficits. Their definition and subsequent use
of science is, perhaps, the greatest contribution of the
authors to science education for children and youth.
Standing in stark contrast to traditional science
education, this critical and culturally relevant
approach opens a door through which science, or at least
the scientific process, can be made relevant to students
across economic, ethnic, and social lines. The one
concern with this is how applicable such an approach is
within formal classroom settings. Given the current
push for standard curriculum and testing in the US
education, teachers may not be given the leeway to
employ often time-demanding and open-ended critical
teaching methods. However, this is an issue for schools
to work out. As for Calabrese-Barton et al.’s ideology
and methodology, their case studies show that the
critical approach to science is quite effective.
(Reviewed
by Ray Mount from Eastern University) |
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Bazin,
Maurice; Tamez, Modesto; the Exploratorium Teacher Institute
(2002). Math and Science Across Cultures: Activities and
Investigations from the Exploratorium. New York, NY:
The New Press. 192
pp., ISBN: 1-56584-541-2 $19.95
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This activity book of
multicultural math and science for teachers is one of
the best in its kind. Co-developed by Exploratorium, an
"innovative museum of science, art, and human
perception" located in San Francisco, this collection of
instructional activities presents 14 self-contained,
"hands-on, inquiry-based, and multicultural" activities
of math and science. Each activity is identified with a
specific country or a region in Africa, Asia, or Central
and South America. Some of the topics include sona
(sand drawing) from Northeastern Angola, cuica
from Brazil, Madagascar solitaire, the quipus
(counting system) from the Incas, Mayan math and
calendar, and Egyptian math, and Chinese irrigation.
Each chapter provides geographical, historical, and
cultural information on an activity. The depth and
thoroughness of the information, based on
anthropological research and written in an accessible
language, sets this book apart from others in this
category. Extension ideas and recommended resources
provided at the end of each chapter would be useful in
classroom instruction. Even better is the fact that the
activities have been tested with students in 4-12
grades, according to the authors! |
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Caduto,
Michael J. & Bruchac, Joseph. (1997). Keepers of Life:
Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth
Activities For Children. Golden, CO:
Fulcrum Publishing.
288 pp., ISBN: 1-555-91387-3 $19.95
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This book about Native
Americans creatively integrates language arts, botany
and plant ecology, and environmental stewardship into a
collection of interdisciplinary instructional activities
for elementary and middle school teaching. After two
introductory chapters, each of the subsequent chapters
begins with a delightful legend involving a plant. The
stories
originate from
different parts of North and Central America, thus
reflecting the plant ecology of various regions. Each
tale is followed by a comprehensive essay explaining the
Native American context for the plant and a series of
instructional activities related to the topic. Thirteen
stories are presented in this format and are categorized
in five themes from Native American cultures:
"Creation," "Celebration, Thanksgiving, and
Stewardship," "Flowers and Fruits, Seeds and Spores,"
"Survival," and "Healing Our Relations." The clever
juxtaposition of literature and science opens a new way
of infusing multicultural content into the science
curriculum. This curriculum guide is filled with
user-friendly symbols identifying various types of
activities, such as outdoors, indoors, sensory awareness
of plants, understanding of plants, caring for plants
and earth, and caring for people. The activities are
also identified by recommended ages of children. Except
for the small-sized printing, the book is excellent in
content and user-friendly. |
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Grant, Tim &
Littlejohn, Gail (Eds.) (2001). Teaching About Climate
Change: Cool Schools Tackle Global Warming. British
Columbia, Canada:
New
Society Publishers. 80 pp., ISBN: 0-865-71437-1 $12.95
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Challenges in teaching on global warming and climate
change arise from both the disparate causes and effects
of these as well as the myriad public perception
surrounding the topics. As scientists have done much to
clarify the former, it is the latter that educators must
face as they teach the subject. Grant and Littlejohn
have put together a collection of instructional ideas to
help teachers tackle the challenge. The book may serve
both as a primer and a curricular guide. As a primer,
it provides critical introductory knowledge that anyone,
especially educators preparing to teach it, should know
about global warming and climate change. Examples of
such include the scientific theory of climate change,
human activities interfering with global climate, and
daily actions to make a difference in regard to climate
change. As a
curricular guide, it offers
general ideas for lessons and describes specific ways in
which other schools have explored the ideas. The
selection of ideas fall into five general categories
concerning foundations, energy alternatives,
transportation alternatives, the school building, and
home and community. Teachers could adopt these ideas to
teach lessons on how the world is interconnected and our
actions affect other parts of the world. If the idea of
"knowing what you teach’" is important, Grant and
Littlejohn’s guide is a good place to start on the
subject of global climate change.
(Reviewed by Ray Mount from
Eastern University) |
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Lumpkin,
Beatrice; Strong, Dorothy; Earle, Scott W. (1995).
Multicultural Science and Math Connections: Middle School
Projects and Activities. Portland, ME:
J.
Weston Walch. 193 pp., ISBN: 0-825-12659-2 $29.50
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This collection of
instructional activities for middle school students
introduces a variety of mathematical and science ideas
from ancient and modern societies of the world. The
ideas come from Nubia (Southern Ancient Egypt), Egypt,
Babylonia, Mozambique, Kenya, Inuit (Eskimo), Mexico,
Andes (the Inca), Hopi, People of Plains (Native
Americans), China, India, and Old Russia. The latter
part of the book also presents instructional ideas
related to contributions made by several scientists and
mathematicians of color. Attached to each project idea
is an easy-to-read story explaining the cultural
background of the activity or the biography of the
scientist/mathematician. While interesting to read, the
short story does not help students develop an in-depth
and accurate understanding of the historical and
cultural background. The lack of references does not
help validate the historical accuracy of the stories.
It would be almost imperative to supplement the
activities with additional research on the background.
Despite its shortcoming, the book may come in handy to
teachers who want to add zest to their math
curriculum. |
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Moses, Robert
P. & Cobb, Charles. (2002). Radical Equations: Civil Rights
from Mississippi to the Algebra Project. Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
352 pp., ISBN: 0-807-03127-5 $16.00
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Robert Moses, one of the
authors, actively drove the Black voter registration in
Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement in the
1960's. Using the same community organizing spirit and
principle, the mathematician Moses founded and has
spread the Algebra Project in the rural and urban
communities heavily populated by African Americans. The
project began in 1982 when he started to teach algebra
to a few eighth graders in his daughter’s class in a
racially integrated high school in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
Convinced that the level of math high school
students complete upon graduation determines their path
into high education, he advocates
that all students, including minority,
low-income, and female students, have an
opportunity to take algebra in their 8th
grade. This project has successfully boosted the math
performance of students from the areas that had suffered
from poor academic records. The Algebra Project is
more than a math reform movement. It challenges the
ethos of social tracking that disadvantages
underprivileged youth, students of color, and females by
expecting less of them and placing them in lower-level
math courses, which in turn hampers their chance to
advance to
higher education, especially toward science- and
math-based careers.
The book
offers a detailed chronology of the author's
involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and the
development of the Algebra Project.
Those who are looking for information on how the
Algebra project works mathematically may be disappointed
by the book. The
appendix illustrating one of the central themes
of the project—“The Mathematics of Trips"—may not be
sufficient enough
for them. |
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Patten,
Elizabeth & Lyons, Kathy. (2003). Healthy Foods from Healthy
Soils: A Hands-On Resource for Teachers. Gardiner, ME:
Tilbury House Publishers.
272 pp., ISBN: 0-884-48242-1 $19.95
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This
environmentally conscious boo "reintroduces" students to
the agricultural cycles that have defined civilized life
for millennia. Contending that North American children
have lost the knowledge of these cycles due to
increasingly industrialized farming, the authors begin
with ecological and agricultural basics and build these
into an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how
society gets its food. Individual lessons, neatly
formatted into goals, how-to, and follow-up sections,
are grouped into four general categories; understanding
where food comes from, choosing food wisely, recycling
and composting, and growing one’s own food. The lessons
clearly teach to ideals of sustainable agriculture,
incorporating such topics as composting, petrochemical
overuse, choosing food locally, and what makes for
healthy soil. Geared for primary and middle school
students, the authors have created a sensible series of
activities. Each activity builds upon knowledge
constructed in previous lessons in the series. The
lessons could also be used individually with some
adaptations. Likewise, with more sophisticated end
goals, most of the lessons could be used on a secondary
level. In spite of the environmentally friendly
content, the book exclusively focus on the North
American agricultural experience. Teachers working with
diverse populations may wish to augment this curriculum
with the agricultural experience of other cultural
groups in the classroom.
(Reviewed by Ray Mount from
Eastern University) |
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Roth,
Wolff-Michael & Barton, Angela Calabrese (2004). Rethinking
Scientific Literacy (Critical Social Thought) London:
Routledge.
240 pp., ISBN: 0-415-94843-6 (pbk), $24.95
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The authors are trying to
rescue science education from laboratories and
classrooms in which the discourse of facts and abstract
principles dominates and to transform it into a series
of collective activities in which students could
actively participate and improve their real life
situations. The authors argue that this type of science
literacy development is much more meaningful,
educational, and applicable to the youth living in the
margin of the society and school system. Eight chapters
of this book draw upon three ethnographic studies: (1) a
creek restoration project in a rural town in Northeast,
(2) a community garden development by children from an
urban homeless shelter on the East Coast, and (3)
science education in schools for poverty-stricken
children in Pakistan. In all these cases, children and
youth,
labeled either "learning disabled" or "poor,"
participate in actual tasks bringing about changes to
their environments. In contrast to the perceptions of
intellectual inferiority associated with their social
labels, they competently perform scientific tasks and
actively contribute to the collaborative science-based
activities. The authors ask a very important question
to all educators, including science educators, "What do
we want our students to do with the outcomes of science
education?"
Do we want them to score high on standardized
exams,
or do we want them to be able to apply their
scientific literacy to improve their life conditions?
The answer is obvious,
yet science education reform in this direction
seems
far
away. Readers should be warned that
some content is repeated because chapters were
written at different times and for different purposes. |
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Zaslavsky,
Claudia (1995). The Multicultural Math Classroom : Bringing
in the World. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
256 pp., ISBN: 0-435-08373-2 (pbk.) $26.00
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Grounded on the sound theory
of multicultural education, this excellent book of its
kind still boasts usefulness despite the publication
date. Unlike some books on the topic of multicultural
math curriculum, this book does not trivialize
mathematics. Integrating basic and advanced
mathematical topics of algebra, geometry, and statistics
with world culture, the author demonstrates that
multicultural education can be applied to mathematical
curriculum and instruction as to other disciplines. The
information on the "mathematical topics," "cultural
connections," and "linked subjects" of each chapter
would be especially helpful to teachers who are
interested in developing integrative curriculum of math
and other subjects. Teachers may find the chapter on
"games of many cultures" interesting and the "Resources"
section exceptionally useful. The extensive list of
references evidences the depth and breadth of the
research underlying the book. |
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