Chapter 16. Interview with Geoffrey Saxe

Synopsis

Human Development Video Activity
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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

INTERVIEW WITH GEOFFREY SAXE

African boy at blackboard
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Estimated Completion Time:

Approximately 5 minutes.

Synopsis:

The video clip in this module presents an interview with Geoffrey Saxe, along with footage of an adult and school-aged child adapting Okaspmin math to either work with currency at a trading post or solve a mathematical problem at a Western-styled school. After viewing the clip, you’ll be asked to interpret the methodology employed by the student.

Video

Geoffrey Saxe, Ph.D., of the University of California at Berkeley, focuses on the interplay of culture and cognitive development, especially in relationship to mathematical cognition in children. His study of the mathematical system used by the Oksapmin people of Papua, New Guinea, provided insights into how culture not only influences what a child learns, but also how a child learns. The video clip presents an interview with Geoffrey Saxe along with footage of an adult and school-aged child adapting Oksapmin math to either work with currency at a trading post or solve a mathematical problem at a Western-styled school.

Essay Question

African boy at blackboard
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Question 16.1

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The student’s method of solving the problem is aligned with both ways of teaching and learning. Because the student uses the basic building blocks of math under the Oksapmin method for calculations, he displays learning from the bottom-up. But, when he adapts the Oksapmin system to solving a math problem in an Arabic math system, he must understand the principles behind both math systems -- and in that way, the student also uses top-down, or a meaning first, method.

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