My decision to use the medicine wheel as a back ground for a connection wheel was centered around the idea that a wheel can move us forward together. While my decision to use quarters and the four shown pedagogies was to activate educators’ funds of knowledge so we can move towards reconciliation.

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Complex instruction is viewed as rich learning tasks where learners work to collectively problem solve and value other perspectives. While, culturally responsive mathematics is based on what the learner brings to the classroom, community, other ways of knowing, and collaboration with community knowledge holders. In the words of Gloria Ladson-Billings, “students must develop a broader sociopolitical consciousness that allows them to critique the cultural norms, values, mores, and institutions that produce and maintain social inequities.” Whereas, critical math education stems from Paulo Freire and a move away from teacher centered instruction to student centered learning to understand why things are the way they are. Similarly, Ole Skovsmose discusses that "reading and writing the world for mathematics" is to engage a variety of mathematics learners to challenge preconceptions, presumptions, and controversy. Finally, when we know our learners we can engage them in mathematics using important social or ecological justice issues. According to Berry et al., (2020) “teaching mathematics for social justice: builds informed citizens, connects mathematics to our learners’ culture and community, empowers our learner to confront and solve injustices, and provides a mathematical tool for social change.”

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Footnote:

1. Berry, R.Q., Conway, B.M. III, & Staley, J.W. (2020). High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice. Corwin.