Estimating Probabilities through the Mongolian "Shagai" Game: A Culturally Responsive Approach to Teaching Statistics

Resumo

Culturally responsive approaches in mathematics education have been widely advocated; however, empirical investigations that embed traditional artifacts into probability and statistics instruction remain limited. This study addresses this gap by employing "Shagai"--a traditional Mongolian four-sided ankle bone--as an ethnomathematical instrument to support the development of statistical reasoning. In total, 10,050 single-throw trials were conducted across three groups: community participants (n = 5,000), pre-service mathematics teachers (n = 5,000), and a researcher-led demonstration (n = 50). Empirical probabilities for the four "Shagai" outcomes--horse, camel, sheep, and goat--were estimated as 0.12, 0.13, 0.39, and 0.36, respectively, with convergence achieved after approximately 8,000 trials, indicating a statistically stable but non-uniform distribution. These results informed the design of a four-hour instructional workshop with nine doctoral students in education. Participants conducted "Shagai"-based experiments, calculated statistical measures, and analyzed data using SPSS. Qualitative reflections were subjected to thematic analysis, which revealed enhanced statistical understanding, interdisciplinary insight, and awareness of cultural integration. A paired-sample t-test confirmed a statistically significant improvement in conceptual understanding (??(8) = 4.43, ?? = 0.002). The findings suggest that embedding traditional knowledge systems into statistics education can deepen conceptual comprehension and enrich culturally relevant pedagogy.

Dados da obra

Tipo

Artigo

Periódico

Journal on Mathematics Education

Ano

2025

Idioma

en

Palavras-chave

Foreign Countries; Culturally Relevant Education; Mathematics Education; Statistics Education; Probability; Ethnology; Doctoral Students; Human Body; Workshops; Experiments; Indigenous Knowledge

Temas

Educação Estatística, Etnomatemática, Probabilidade

ISSN

2087-8885

Acesso

Download disponível

Fontes

ERIC — Education Resources Information Center

Na Biblioteca desde

01/10/2026 · verificada em 03/10/2026