Building Success in Geometry Through Culture, Language, and Identity

Abstract

Culturally relevant pedagogy is a great concept, but to make it a reality for your students you have to create a climate in your classroom that let’s students know that their humanity is valued just as much as their academic ability. The inability of students to see themselves in the curriculum leads to low student engagement. Lower levels of student engagement have demonstrated a correlation with living in poverty. Mathematics achievement scores for the historically underserved populations often found in urban school settings - African American, Latinx, Native American, and poor students shows that they continue to be underserved by mathematics education. Teachers who create contexts in their classroom for students to exhibit high involvement in the learning of geometry cultivate students that are more engaged and as a result achieve higher levels of academic achievement. This work aims to improve academic achievement in the study of geometry using culturally relevant pedagogy and teacher enthusiasm to foster higher levels of student engagement.