Ms. R. and Ms B. and the Coconut Unit Lesson

Abstract

This short research-to-practice paper gives details about two first-grade teachers and their students using a locally-written and locally-set story about measurement as the center of a lesson. The report chronicles the journeys of the teachers in one elementary school in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Both teachers participated in a series of collaboration sessions led by the author. These sessions first introduced the teachers to the idea of ethnomathematics and the potential of adopting culturally-relevant approaches, and later provided support during implementation. The two teachers reported that the focused collaboration sessions and the implementation process effectively changed their teaching, their attitudes and knowledge of mathematics, and their understanding of curriculum. The paper recommends that others adopt a similar focused collaboration approach as a form of professional development for those who are interested in different approaches to teaching mathematics and developing curriculum.