Description:
Navajo
students engage in a lively collaboration with mathematicians. Using
concepts from Native culture and a unique student-centered approach,
the project aims to spark interest in math and science and create
greater educational opportunities. Navajo Math Circles follows Navajo
students in a lively collaboration with mathematicians. The students
stay late after school and assemble over the summer at Diné College
to study mathematics. The math circles approach emphasizes
student-centered learning by putting children in charge of exploring
mathematics to their own joy and satisfaction. The documentary
reveals the challenges in education on the Navajo Nation.
Applications of math in Native culture provide tools for increasing
math literacy, highlighting the special connections between Navajo
culture, natural beauty, and mathematics. The presence of math
circles raises the hopes of parents, students, and teachers for a
brighter future.
Biography: George
Csicsery’s first documentary about a mathematician, N is a
Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős, is a classic in the field, and
has been followed by a series of feature-length, one-hour, and short
films about mathematicians and math education. In 2009, George
Csicsery was awarded the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics
Communications Award for bringing mathematics to non-mathematical
audiences. His background as an ethnographic filmmaker provides an
additional skill for working with Navajo subjects.
