BIRS First Nations Math Education (15w5170)

Organizers

Melania Alvarez Adem (University of British Columbia)

Genevieve Fox (Siksika Board OF Education)

(University of Calgary)

Cynthia Nicol (University of British Columbia)

Description

The Banff International Research Station will host the "BIRS First Nations Math Education" workshop from November 22nd to November 27th, 2015.


We are a group of Elders, mathematicians, math educators and teachers who have come together to find ways to improve mathematics education among aboriginals while at the same time acknowledging the importance of traditional culture.
Due to the fact that Aboriginals make up a growing portion of the student population, in the future they will become a substantial proportion of the population that should be participating in the workforce. If we do not address the great disparity in educational achievement of aboriginals compared with the rest of the population, the repercussions will be disastrous.


Through the years our group has worked to develop a variety of practical approaches for overcoming the challenges aboriginal students face





The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).