with the support of a sshrc connection grant and cancode grant awarded to dr. ruth beatty (associate professor, orillia), colinda clyne, anika guthrie, christina ruddy, and their research partners, a two-day indigenous mathematics and education conference took place in april at the orillia campus. the conference theme was “relationships and reciprocity.”

an aim of the conference was to give attendees—including community elders, knowledge keepers and leaders, educators, and administrators from across the province—an opportunity to explore and discuss the first nations & métis math voices project, a comprehensive, long-term, multi-site project that has taken place in elementary and secondary classrooms throughout canada.

the conference also served as a forum for the 160+ attendees to develop relationships and share experiences, practice, knowledge, and ideas about connections between the mathematical content knowledge of the canadian math curricula (including coding), and the mathematics inherent in indigenous technology, design, and artistry.

the formal opening and closing were given by anishinaabe artist grandmother vicki pawis from the chippewas of rama first nation to ensure that the conference began and ended in a good way. three-hour workshops were held each day, so that participants could be immersed in the experience of exploring mathematics through indigenous culture. the workshops examined the mathematics inherent in traditional indigenous technologies and cultural practices, including looming and the making of hairbone pipe bracelets, medallions, and birchbark baskets (wiigwas makak). participants considered how incorporating indigenous pedagogical approaches align with current mathematics instruction and provide insight for creating more inclusive classrooms. they also learned from community research partners as they shared their experiences of the importance of including first nations and métis cultures in mathematics instruction.

eighteen research partners were involved in the organization of the conference, including several student volunteers from the lakehead community. for a full list of conference organizers and their biographies, please see the conference website.  

dr. connie russell (professor, faculty of education and 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 research chair in environmental education) recently co-edited, with patrick chandler (university of colorado boulder) and justin dillon (university college london), a special issue of the top-ranked journal, environmental education research.

the issue focused on humour, an under-studied topic in the field. other related fields, like climate change communication and social justice education, have begun delving into the topic and revealed the potential for humour to lower resistance to uncomfortable topics, increase engagement, raise awareness, and spark or sustain action. it is not without pitfalls, however, especially since what is found funny is subjective and may not be shared across cultures or generations.

the eleven papers in the special issue illustrate humour does have potential for environmental education. hailing from eight different countries, the authors adopted an array of methodological approaches and theoretical frames and their inquiries were grounded in diverse sites of learning. delving into humour led authors to push beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines and, for some, to form creative collaborations that took them not only into new academic fields but also outside their professions to work with cartoonists, comedians, actors, and game developers. the full issue is available here.

research shows there is a need to move beyond traditional, formula-based approaches to mathematics—and dr. ann kajander’s (professor, thunder bay campus) new book, mathematics for intermediate teachers: from models to methods, aims to teach teachers the reasoning behind the methods.

the 2023 book is written for prospective and practicing teachers, with the encouragement of lakehead’s bachelor of education candidates in mathematics curriculum and instruction courses. these preservice teachers, all of whom had extensive post-secondary mathematics coursework, claimed that understanding the representations and reasoning (what the field calls specialized mathematics content knowledge for teaching) significantly deepened their understanding of the concepts. a group of the 2021-2022 cohort even gathered for the book's cover shot in the bora laskin library!

as noted on the cambridge scholars publishing website, the ideas and activities outlined in the book “are directly transferable to classroom use, with concepts developed using visual models and representations, manipulatives, reasoning, and with deep connections to other concepts. these methods support better thinking, learning, and understanding for all 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 . in addition, these visual and active approaches are also much better aligned with indigenous ways of thinking and knowing, a critical benefit for societies striving for decolonization.”

ann, who teaches mathematics education, is the author of numerous research papers, and has published five other books on mathematics education.

congratulations to randy wilkie (contract lecturer, thunder bay), who has been appointed as editor of the ontario association for geographic and environmental education journal, the monograph.

the monograph shares geographic teaching resources to its membership, which includes geography and environmental teachers across ontario.

randy’s first edited journal can be found here.

congratulations, randy!