THE COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SPEAKERS SERIES PRESENTS:
MIND, MATHEMATICS AND MULTILINGUALITY
Dr. Minati Panda, Associate Professor
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Dehli, India
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
11 a.m.
Room 1010
Faculty of Education, Western University
Refreshments will be served.
In this talk, Dr. Minati Panda will explore the relationship between notions of mind, mathematics and language. Her research indicates that a major reason why tribal/indigenous children fare poorly in studying mathematics as a subject at school is the way it is taught at the primary level. Though tribal communities have an extensive and rich knowledge of mathematics and everyday science, classroom teaching is completely divorced from their experiences and language. Dr. Panda will draw on her work with the Saora tribe in India to present an empirical account of her application of Saora linguistic and cultural tools to engage children in mathematical discourses, as well as how these discourses enable children to understand logic and mathematics.
