Mathematical Patterns in African American HAIRSTYLEs

Summary

MATHEMATICAL PATTERNS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HAIRSTYLES by GLORIA GILMER MATH-TECH, MILWAUKEE BACKGROUND. The discipline of mathematics includes the study of patterns. Patterns can be found everywhere in nature. See Figure 1 with two bees in a beehive. Often these patterns are copied and adapted by humans to enhance their world. See the pineapple in Figures 2a and the adapted hairstyle in Figure 2b. Ethnomathematics is the study of such mathematical ideas involved in the cultural practices of a people. Its richness is in exploring both the mathematical and educational potential of these same practices. The idea is to provide quicker and better access to the scientific knowledge of humanity as a whole by using related knowledge inherent in the culture of pupils and teachers. fig1 TWO BEES IN A BEEHIVE FIGURE 2a PINEAPPLE TESSELATING HEXAGONS FIGURE 2b GIRL Going into a community, examining its languages and values, as well as its experience with mathematical ideas is a first and necessary step in understanding ethnomathematics. In some cases, these ideas are embedded in products developed in the community. Examples of this phenomena are geometrical designs and patterns commonly used in hair braiding and weaving in African-American communities. For me, the excitement is in the endless range of scalp designs formed by parting the hair lengthwise, crosswise, or into curves. INTRODUCTION. The main objective of my work with black hair is to uncover the ethnomathematics of some hair braiders and at the same time answer the complex research question: "What can the hair braiding enterprise contribute to mathematics education and conversely what can mathematics education contribute to the hair braiding enterprise?" It is clear to me that this single practical activity, can by its nature, generate more mathematics than the application of a theory to a particular case. My collaborators include Stephanie Desgrottes, a fourteen year old student of Haitian descent, at Half Hollow Hil...