Math in Folk Tales with Oksana Igrakova

Oksana Igrakova describes some of the broad mathematical connections a teacher could create with the Russian folk story “The Giant Turnip.”

Oksana V. Igrakova is the head of primary school education at the Slavyansk-on-Kuban State Pedagogical Institute in the Krasnodar region of Russia. She also supervises a task group on mathematics testing in primary school settings, is a lecturer in mathematics and assessment, and conducts an annual seminar for school teachers on problems within mathematics education.

The Early Math Collaborative, supported by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, held international symposia in 2009 and 2010. The two events brought experts from around the world to share approaches to early mathematics education with teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and other education professionals. The goal was to generate globally-informed ideas and recommendations for improving math instruction in the early childhood classroom. In breakout discussions and plenary sessions, participants brainstormed ideas, identified issues, and recommended actions.