This unlikely cast of characters, by working collaboratively in a trusting learning community, was able to identify an approach to teaching rational numbers through measuring from the everyday practices of Yup'ik Eskimo and other elders. "The beginning of everything," as named by a Yup'ik elder, provided deep insights into how practical…

What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Without formal tools, the Yup'ik Eskimos of Alaska used their body as a measuring device and employed ratios extensively in their daily practices. "Math in a Cultural Context" is developing curriculum materials based on Yup'ik Elders use of…

This article shows how Yup'ik cosmology, epistemology, and everyday practice have implications for the teaching of school mathematics. Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) has a long-term collaborative relationship with Yup'ik elders and experienced Yup'ik teachers. Because of this long-term ethnographically-oriented relationship, the authors--both…

A growing body of empirical data suggests that there may be a true psychological distinction between academic and practical intelligence. If there is, then conventional ability tests used alone may reveal substantially less than we want to know about people's competence in everyday practical situations. Evidence to this effect is reviewed from…

We assessed the importance of academic and practical intelligence in rural and relatively urban Yup'ik Alaskan communities with respect to Yup'ik-valued traits rated by adults or peers in the adolescents' communities. A total of 261 adolescents participated in the study; of these adolescents, 145 were females and 116 were males, and they were from…

This book demonstrates that an indigenous teachers' group has the potential to transform the culture of schooling. Personal narratives by Yup'ik Eskimo teachers speak directly to issues of equity and school transformation. Their struggles represent the beginning of a slow process by a group of Yup'ik teachers (Ciulistet) and university colleagues…