Benally, J. (2024). Co-constructing N´ahookos Bi’ka’ constellation with STARR [Doctoral Consortium].

In J. P. Hourcade & H. M. Skovbjerg (Eds.), ”Inclusive Happiness” – Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, Delft, Netherlands. Association for Computing Machinery, ACM, New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3628516.3659861

ABSTRACT: This is background on the STARR—Students Tracking Angular Rotation Recorder—as a means for students to learn about angles. In an effort to revitalize land-based ethnomathematical practices, this project is framed around Diné cosmology and engages students in a novel astronomical experience where they become immersed in angle creation and measurement. Participants will be 4th & 5th grade (9-12 years) students paired either with a peer or with an intergenerational family member. Working in a simulated planetarium, participants will collaboratively “voyage” along constellations, so as to occasion communications about angles from complementary perceptual perspectives (the first-person “Sensor” and their third-person “Navigator”). STARR investigates the discursive coconstruction of situated mathematics to evaluate whether and how students are grounding Euclidean geometry in Diné astronomical knowledge. This tangible cultural interface explores the resonance between Indigenous historical practices and modern pedagogical principles of progressive education focused on situated actions, with potentially broad implications for mathematics education based on critical-pedagogy restorative-justice values.

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