Dianing Meijayanti
11313244024
Inter. Math. Education 2011
Ethnomathematics can be called also the culture of mathematics, where the culture is present in the daily life. We need to study ethnomathematics so we know the history of mathematics in Indonesia or in the world. Ethnomathematics used to express the relationship between culture and mathematics. Ethno describes “all of the ingredients that make up the cultural identity of a group. Mathematics expresses a broad view of mathematics which includes arithmetic, classifying, ordering, inferring, and modeling. Ethnomathematics refers to the theory of constructivism by Vigotsky.
Teachers and the public in general do not commonly say that mathematics and culture are connected. Most of the teachers and the public in general, oriented to outcomes such as the UN, because they felt that if the final result is good then the learning process has been carried out to the fullest. Ethnomathematics is difficult to apply in Indonesia, while ethnomathematics can be used as a variety of methods or strategies for teaching mathematics. With ethnomathemtics, students can experience multicultural mathematical activities that reflect the knowledge and behaviors of people from diverse cultural environments, they not only may learn to value the mathematics but just as important, may develop a greater respect for those who are different from themselves.
We can help students realize
their full mathematical potential by acknowledging the importance of culture to
the identity of the child and how culture affects how children think and learn.
We must teach children to value diversity in the mathematics classroom and to
understand both the influence that culture has on mathematics and how this
influence results in different ways in which mathematics is used and
communicated. We gain such an understanding through the study of
ethnomathematics.
Ethnomathematics encourages
us to witness and struggle to understand how mathematics continues to be
culturally adapted and used by people around the planet and throughout time.
Traditionally in mathematics classrooms, the relevance of culture has been
strangely absent from the content and instruction. The result is that many
students and teachers unquestioningly believe that no connection exists between
mathematics and culture. Failing to consider other possibilities, they believe
that mathematics is acultural, a discipline without cultural significance.
Students should be encouraged to construct personal mathematical
understandings and be able to explain their work. When cultural characteristics
of the children's invention, experience, and application of mathematics are realized and respected, these
students more closely resemble the budding mathematicians we desire. Students must know of the mathematical inventions or
applications In Indonesia, we can see the
richness of the culture of Java, such as when someone dies, do the
celebration of 3 days, 7 days,
40 days, and so
on, which are not directly using
mathematical calculations. The other example is if this day is Sunday Kliwon then the next 100 days will be on the next
Monday Kliwon, if this day is Friday Legi then the next 100 days will be
on Saturday Legi, if this day is Wednesday Pahing then the next 100 day
will be on Sunday Pahing, etc. In addition, we can see Borobudur temple is
made in such beauty, where the
application of fractal geometry are there.
Many of these children simply do not realize that they are
mathematically capable and that they do in fact possess a long and rich
mathematical heritage. Mathematics is a compilation of progressive discoveries
and inventions from cultures around the world during the course of history. Its
history and ethnography form a wonderful mosaic of cultural contributions.
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