Journey from Separate Subject-Centric Pedagogy to STEAM-Sensitized Mathematics Education: An Autoethnographic Inquiry
Creators: name: Madan Rijal
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Compartmentalized, Pedagogy, STEAM Approach, Autoethnography, Transdisciplinary

description: <strong>In our society, different people have different perceptions of mathematics. The perception such as – mathematics is a difficult subject, mathematics is for clever ones, mathematics is a male domain and so on </strong>seem to be shared by people time and again. Among these various perceptions of mathematics, the majority of the people share their negative experiences and perceptions<strong>. It seems that the major blaming on this subject incorporates its abstractness, rigorous nature and lack of connecting it with other with our emotions, feelings and day to day practices in comparison to other disciplines. Basically, the mathematics curriculum itself seems to be promoting compartmentalized or isolated curriculum instruction, pedagogical practices and assessment system.</strong> <strong>From the curriculum perspective, curriculums of the different subjects can be seen in practices. These curriculums have their own objectives, instructions and assessment process. Besides mathematics, these disciplines have inter/intra connection within and with other disciplines explicitly/implicitly. However, in</strong> mathematics disciplines, the curriculum, instructions and assessment seem distinct. There are as if compartments such as Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Statistics and others. In this regard, there can be seen lack of inter/intra curriculum integration among the disciplines and within itself. The thematic approach in curriculum does not seem to be well acknowledged. Rather than integrating curriculum goals among the disciplines and encouraging learners for collaboration as well as cooperation while learning mathematics, the approach seems to be isolated, disengaged and focuses on isolated knowledge reproduction. Mathematics pedagogical practice seems to be promoting a competitive environment where learning, creating, collaborating and other features are suppressed by competition pedagogy for finding the algorithmic numerical answers. Teachers seem to be busy completing the syllabus earlier and preparing learners just for examinations whereas learners are compelled to be prepared for good grades. Moreover, the banking pedagogy has been widespread in mathematics teaching and learning in an isolated environment. <strong>An old proverb </strong>“<em>ghokanti vidhya dhawanti kheti</em>” (literally: learning by memorizing; yielding by tendering) seems to be much truer in mathematics education where various theorems, postulates, axioms and formulas have been considered as ‘<em>God-given statements</em>’ and ‘<em>blindfolded devotees</em>’ are compelled to chant them without any questioning. Almost no learner’s perceptions or ideas are taken into account besides strict logical reasoning and dry numbers. Being a mathematics learner and teacher for more than a decade in the same environment, I had/have been adopting the compartmentalized or separate subject approach in mathematics teaching in my practices though I have constant dissatisfaction with its approach. The emerging discourse of STEAM as multidisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach in pedagogical practice intuited me pause and reflect back by pedagogical journey. It gave me a kind of pausing moment to critically reflect on my deep-seated beliefs and my isolated pedagogical practices to date. It has been helping me to rethink the goals of educational practices which are supposed to be encouraging and helping learners to recognize the inert capacities. Further, it is for equipping learners with various skills and abilities for the real world. Hence, with the purposes of (i) critically reflecting on how different features of separate subject-centric approach is creating disciplinary egocentrism particularly in mathematics education and hindering in promoting STEAM pedagogical practice and (ii) envisioning STEAM-sensitized mathematics education, I conducted this autoethnographic endeavor under multi-paradigmatic research space. Pondering into individual’s assumptions, belief and practices would provide the space for critical reflection and seek for possible improvements and transformation. This transforming self and then going to the outer world aspect is the key idea of autoethnographic study. In my context, I found it much appropriate method for dig into my assumptions and practice and seeing the possible transformation that can be brought through STEAM sensation. The research inquiry got its foundation with the theory of transformative learning theory and Habermasian knowledge constitutive interests (technical and emancipatory) (1972). Unpacking and after that critically reflecting the various events and incidents of my pedagogical journey so far, I have tried to come up with some possible alternatives/improvements for orienting our mathematics pedagogy towards contextual, integrated and transdisciplinary learning. For this, I have used three key features of autoethnographic text: performative, dialogic (intrapersonal), and pedagogic enablement (Luitel, 2009). As curriculum instruction, pedagogical practices and assessment are vital components of educational process, keeping in mind these things and after being conscious through STEAM sensation, I envisioned the nature of these components in educational sphere, such as integrated curriculum for 21<sup>st</sup> century learners, teacher as an optimum scaffolder, learners as active collaborators in maker space and assessment as/for lifelong learning. These transformed features of mathematics pedagogy and roles of teachers, students and stakeholders have provided a gateway for redefining our curriculum instructions, pedagogical practices and assessment system to some extent. The process of pondering into our informed educational practice, going through somewhat reforming process and eventually engaging in transforming domain has helped/been helping me in preparing skilled and critically empowered human resources for the sustainable development in my context.