STEM Scholars Lecture
Dr. Daniel Orey
Professor of Teacher Education, Sacramento State
Ethnomathematics
The language of numbers
(Click on the link above for postcard and free parking information)
Tuesday, April 28th
7:00 pm
University Union, Redwood Room
The Sacramento State STEM Public Lecture Series welcomes Dr. Daniel Orey, a Sacramento State professor of Teacher Education who specializes in mathematics and multicultural education. His talk titled "Ethnomathematics" will focus on the relationship between mathematics and culture.
Dr. Orey will discuss Ethnomathematics, a research program developed by Brazilian philosopher, educator, and mathematician Ubiratan D'Ambrosio. Ethnomathematicians study the multitude of diverse contexts in which mathematics is used outside of academic contexts. An ethnomathematics program provides a basis for acknowledging mathematical structures in non-western societies and possesses the power to connect culture to mathematics. By integrating mathematical modeling through "ethnomodeling" it has been shown to increase understanding and bridge the dichotomy between academic and daily life mathematics.
An ethnomathematics perspective provides a transformational environment for students and teachers, and allows them to think of diversity as good, valuable, and indeed necessary to living in a globalized interconnected world. In this talk, Dr. Orey will share examples of cultural and mathematical practices he has come across in his travels around the world, including Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Nepal, and Israel.
Speaker Bio:
Daniel Clark Orey, Ph.D., is Professor of Multicultural and Mathematics Education and a frequent instructor in the Department of Learning Skills at Sacramento State. In 2007, he served as a Senior Fulbright Specialist to Kathmandu University where he taught a course in ethnomathematics. Dr. Orey is the former Director of Professional Development and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Sacramento State.
He earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in Multicultural Education from the University of New Mexico in 1988. During his doctoral work, he has served as a consultant at both the Colegio Americano de Puebla and to Apple de México. A graduate of Oregon State University in 1978, he began his teaching career at Monitor Elementary School in Mt. Angel, Oregon. He has taught mathematics at Riverdale School in Portland Oregon, the Colegio Americano de Guatemala in Guatemala City, and the Escuela Americano de Bananera, Guatemala. He speaks, writes and is published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Speaker Contact Information:
Dr. Daniel Orey
office phone: (916) 278-5531
email: orey@csus.edu
STEM Scholar Series Contacts:
Sharon Puricelli
Coordinator, Center for STEM Excellence
stem@csus.edu
(916) 278-2789
Dr. V. Scott Gordon
Faculty Coordinator, Center for STEM Excellence
gordonvs@ecs.csus.edu