Over the last two decades there has been a proliferation of studies in ethnomathematics dedicated towards shedding light on its importance in enhancing education (cf. Bishop, 1988; Gerdes, 1985). Many ethno mathematicians have utilized the object world as a tool in the learning of mathematical concepts, but little research to date has focused on the role of objects as agents that activate mathematical thought. In this article I argue that the material qualities of objects can mobilize mathematical thinking and act as vehicles for learning. I show that geometric patterns incised on traditional arts and crafts are effective tools in the mathematics classroom in cultures that tend towards visual forms of knowledge. Anthropology is ideally suited for this type of study and as I aim to show, an ethnographic approach can give valuable insights into education and knowledge technology.
Ausburn, F. B.
and Ausburn, L. J. (1982) Cognitive Styles and Visual Analysis Skills in Papua New Guinea. Mathematics Education Centre report 21. Lae: University of Technology.
2.
Bishop, A. J.
(1988) Mathematics Enculturation. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
3.
Burt, B.
(1981) Solomon Islanders: The Kwara’ae. London: British Museum Publications.
4.
Clements, D. H.
and Battista, M. T. (1992) ‘Geometry and Spatial Reasoning’, in D.A. Grouws (ed.) Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning: a Project of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. New York, Oxford: Macmillan.
5.
Department of Education, Papua New Guinea
(1998a) Elementary Curriculum Statement.
6.
Department of Education, Papua New Guinea
(1998b) Elementary Education: Making Your Own Community Curriculum. A Guide for Elementary Trainers and Teachers.
7.
Department of Education, Papua New Guinea
(1998c) Elementary Scope and Sequence.
8.
Department of Education, Papua New Guinea
(1999) Cultural Resource Book for Mathematics. Trial version.
9.
Gell, A.
(1998) Art and Agency: Towards a New Anthropological Theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
10.
Gerdes, P.
(1985) ‘Conditions and Strategies for Emancipatory Mathematics Education in Underdeveloped Countries’, For the Learning of Mathematics5(1): 15-34.
11.
Jewell, R.
and Lloyd, J. (1998) Pacific Designs. London: British Museum Publications.
12.
Kahneman, D.
(1973) Attention and Effort. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall.
13.
Kaleva, W.
(1995) ‘The Cultural Context of Mathematics Education Development in Papua New Guinea’, Papua New Guinea Journal of Education31(2): 143-149.
14.
Kari, F.I.M. (1998) ‘“ Papua New Guinea Distance Learners” Perceptions of Home-Culture and Formal Mathematics Learning Situations’, Unpublished PhD dissertation, Monash University.
15.
Küchler, S.
(1991) ‘Introduction’, in S. Küchler and W. Melion (eds) Images and Memory, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
16.
Küchler, S.
(2001) ‘Why Knot? Towards a Theory of Art and Mathematics’, in C. Pinney and N. Thomas (eds) Beyond Aesthetics: Art and the Technologies of Enchantment, Oxford: Berg.
17.
Lancy, D. F.
(1980) ‘The Indigenous Mathematics Project: an Overview’, in Souviney, R.J. et al. (eds) Papers from the Fourth International Congress on Mathematics Education, Indigenous Mathematics Project, Working Paper 5, Lae: University of Technology.
18.
Lancy, D. F.
(1983) Cross-Cultural Studies in Cognition and Mathematics. New York: Academic Press.
19.
Lave, J.
(1988) Cognition in Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
20.
Lean, G. A.
and Clements, M. A. (1980) Spatial Ability, Visual Imagery, and Mathematical Performance. Mathematics Education Centre Report 10. Lae: University of Technology.
21.
Morphy, H.
(1991) Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
22.
O’Hanlon, M.
(1989) Reading the Skin: Adornment, Display and Society among the Waghi. London: British Museum Publications.
23.
Papert, S.
(1980) Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas. Brighton: The Harvester Press.
24.
Saunders, P. T.
(1997) ‘Nonlineality: What It Is and Why It Matters’. Architectural Design129: 52-57.
25.
Saxe, G. B.
(1991) Culture and Cognitive Development: Studies in Mathematical Understanding. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
26.
Simpson, M.
(1996) Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era. London: Routledge.
27.
Souviney, R. J.
(1981) Teaching and Learning Mathematics in the Community Schools in Papua New Guinea. Indigenous Mathematics Project, Working Paper 20. Lae.
28.
Strohecker, C. (1991) ‘Why knot?’ Unpublished PhD dissertation, Epistemology and Learning Group, Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
29.
Toren, C.
(1990) Making Sense of Hierarchy: Cognition as Social Process in Fiji. LSE Monograph on Social Anthropology no. 61. London and Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Athlone Press.
30.
Turkle, S.
and Papert, S. (1990) ‘Epistemological Pluralism: Styles and Voices Within the Computer Culture’, Signs16(1): 128-143.
31.
Verran, H.
(2001) Science and an African logic. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
32.
Wagner, R.
(1986) Asiwinarong: Ethos, Image, and Social Power Among the Usen Barok of New Ireland. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
33.
Wassmann, J.
(1991) The Song to the Flying Fox. Papua New Guinea: Cultural Studies Division, The National Research Institute.
34.
Wassmann, J.
(1994) ‘The Yupno as Post-Newtonian Scientists: the Question of What Is “Natural” in Spatial Description’, Man (N.S.)29(3): 645-666.
35.
Washburn, D.
and Crowe, D. (1988) Symmetries of Culture: Theory and Practice of Plane Pattern Analysis. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
