“This is me”: The use of puppet in teaching mathematics in kindergarten – A culturally responsive approach
Abstract
In the present paper, the use of the puppet as a mediating tool in teaching of mathematics to Roma kindergarten students is studied in terms of participation, empowerment and development of mathematical concepts, in a context of culturally responsive teaching. First, the learning needs and profile of seven Roma kintergarten students were explored, data used to plan and implement activities based on children’s funds of knowledge. Research findings show that the use of the puppet increased children’s motivation to engage in authentic problem solving, encouraging the development of mathematical understanding and thinking. At the same time, the cultural identity of Roma children was recognized and strengthened, making use of their native language and their experiences from daily life.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Chrisikou, V., Vitsiou, M., & Mitropoulou, K. (2025). “This is me”: The use of puppet in teaching mathematics in kindergarten – A culturally responsive approach. Research in Mathematics Education, (18 & 19), 93–113. Retrieved from https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/enedim/article/view/37927
- Section
- Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Ahlcrona, M. (2012). The puppet’s communicative potential as a mediating tool in preschool education. International Journal of Early Childhood (IJEC), 44, 171–184.
Ahlcrona., M.F., & Östman, A. (2018). Mathematics and puppet play as a method in the preschool teacher education. Creative Education, 9(10), 1536–1550.
Al-Jubeh, D. & Vitsou, M. (2021). Empowering refugee children with the use of Persona Doll. International Journal of Progressive Education, 2(17), 210–227.
Appelbaum, P., & Stathopoulou, C. (2020). The taking of Western/Euro mathematics as reappropriation/repair. Revemop, 2, 1-20.
Astles, C., & Tsaplina, M. (2020). Puppetry: The art of puppetry practice: Embodiment, enchantment, memory, history. In P. Crawford, B. Brown, & A. Charise (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Health Humanities (pp. 296-301). Routledge.
Αυγητίδου, Σ. (2001). Το παιχνίδι: Σύγχρονες ερμηνευτικές και διδακτικές προσεγγίσεις. Αθήνα: Τυπωθήτω.
Βίτσου, Μ. (2016). Το κουκλοθέατρο ως διαπολιτισμικό εργαλείο: μια μελέτη περίπτωσης. Πρακτικά του 9ου Πανελλήνιου Συνεδρίου της Παιδαγωγικής Εταιρείας Ελλάδας «Ελληνική Παιδαγωγική και Εκπαιδευτική Έρευνα», Τόμος Ά, (σσ. 517-529). Πανεπιστήμιο Δυτικής Μακεδονίας, Παιδαγωγική Σχολή, Φλώρινα.
Βίτσου, Μ. (2019). Το συναισθηματικό φίλτρο επίδρασης του Krashen και η χρήση του κουκλοθεάτρου ως παράγοντες σχεδιασμού ενός εκπαιδευτικού προγράμματος στη διδασκαλία της ελληνικής γλώσσας ως δεύτερης σε τμήματα προσχολικής εκπαίδευσης της Στοκχόλμης. Στο Ε. Βασιλάκη, Σ. Καλμπένη, & Ρ. Κίτσιου (Επιμ.), Πρακτικά Συνεδρίου Τζαρτζάνεια 2015 «Πρώτη γλώσσα & Πολυγλωσσία. Εκπαιδευτικές & Κοινωνικοπολιτισμικές Προσεγγίσεις» (σελ. 111-127).
Βίτσου, Μ., Μάγος, Κ. (2022). «Η “Aynur” στην τάξη: Διδακτική προσέγγιση της προσφυγικής ταυτότητας με χρήση της “Persona Doll”». Στο Μ. Βελιώτη-Γεωργοπούλου, Β. Γεωργοπούλου, Ι. Καραμάνου, Μ. Κοτζαμάνη, Θ. Μπλέσιος, & Α. Τσιάρας (Επιμ.), Θέατρο και ετερότητα. Θεωρία, δραματουργία & θεατρική πρακτική. Πρακτικά 6ου Πανελλήνιου Θεατρολογικού Συνεδρίου, 17-20 Μαΐου 2017, Τόμος Γ' (σσ. 585-600). Ναύπλιο: Τμήμα Θεατρικών Σπουδών, Πανεπιστήμιο Πελοποννήσου.
Βίτσου, Μ. (2024). «Η κούκλα το λέει... όχι εγώ»: Πολιτισμική διαμεσολάβηση του κεφαλαίου γνώσης (funds of knowledge) στο παιχνίδι με κούκλες σε παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας. Στο Ε. Κανταρτζή, & Φουργκατσιώτης (Επιμ.), Το εκπαιδευτικό παιχνίδι και η τέχνη στην εκπαίδευση και στον πολιτισμό. Πρακτικά του 4ου Πανελλήνιου Συνεδρίου ΕΚΕΔΙΣΥ (σσ. 177-186). Αθήνα: Μουσείο Σχολικής Ζωής και Εκπαίδευσης του ΕΚΕΔΙΣΥ.
Bishop, A. J. (1988). Mathematical enculturation. A cultural perspective on mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Blevins-Knabe, B., (2016). Early mathematical development: How the home environment matters. In B. Blevins-Knabe & A. M. B. Austin (Eds.), Early childhood mathematics skill development in the home environment (pp. 7-28). Springer International Publishing.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57–71). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-004
Brits, J. S., Potgieter, A., & Potgieter, M. J. (2014). Exploring the Use of Puppet Shows in Presenting Nanotechnology Lessons in Early Childhood Education. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education (IJCDSE), 5(4), 1798–1803.
Burke, L., Jindal‐Snape, D., & Douglas, A. (2024). Shall we play?: listening to children’s voices using a playful approach. International Journal of Early Years Education, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2024.2338749
Čečuk, M. (2009). Lutkari i lutke. Zagreb: Međunarodni centar za usluge u kulturi.
Cooper, C. (Ed.) (2010). Making a world of difference: a DICE resource for practitioners on educational theatre and drama. Lisbon: DICE Consortium.
Creswell, J. W. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
D’Ambrosio, U. (1999). Literacy, matheracy, and technocracy: a trivium for today. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 1(2), 131-153. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0102_3
De Beer, J., Petersen, N. & Brits, S. (2018) The Use of Puppetry and Drama in the Biology Classroom. The American Biology Teacher, 80(3), 175-181.
Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή. (2022β). Ένταξη των Ρομά και Περιφερειακή Πολιτική. https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/el/policy/themes/social-inclusion/roma-inclusion/
Fenyvesi, K. (2012). The experience workshop MathArt movement: Experience-centered education of mathematics through arts, sciences, and playful activities. In Proceedings of Bridges 2012: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture (pp. 239-246). Tessellations Publishing.
Gana, E., Stathopoulou, C., & Govaris, C., (2020). Expanded pedagogical spaces: Enhancing Roma students involvement in school. In E. Skourtou, V. Kourtis-Kazoullis, T. Aravossitas, & P. P. Trifonas (Eds.), Language Diversity in Greece: Local Challenges with International Implications (pp. 169-181). Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28396-4
Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Goldstein, T. R., Stutesman, M., & Thompson, B. (2022). Moving with puppets: Preschool children’s gesture with puppets during pretense. Cognitive Development, 63, Article 101198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101198
Hackling, M., Smith, P., & Murcia, K. (2011). Enhancing classroom discourse in primary science: The puppets project. Teaching Science, 57(2), 18–25.
Hamre, I. (2002). The learning process in the theater of paradox. In E. Majaron & L. Kroflin (Eds.), The Puppet-What a Miracle! (pp. 3-13). Zagreb: The UNIMA, Puppets in Education Commission.
Hensberry, K. K., Whitacre, I., Findley, K., Schellinger, J., & Wheeler, M. B. (2018). Engaging students with mathematics through play. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 24(3), 179–183. https://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.24.3.0179
Καφούση, Σ., & Σκουμπουρδή, Χ. (2017). Τα μαθηματικά των παιδιών 4-6 ετών: Αριθμοί και χώρος. Αθήνα: Πατάκη.
Khalfaoui, A., García-Carrión, R., & Villardón-Gallego, L., (2020). Bridging the gap: Engaging Roma and migrant families in early childhood education through trust-based relationships. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(5), 701-711.
Kröger, T., & Nupponen, A.-M. (2019). Puppet as a pedagogical tool: A literature review. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4), 393–401.
Kyriakopoulos, G., Appelbaum, P., & Stathopoulou, C. (2022). Developing a dialogue for ethnomathematics perspective with Deleuzian ideas to better respond to issues of mathematics education of Roma children. In K. Owens (Ed.), Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Ethnomathematics - ICEm7 (pp. 129-136).
Kyriakopoulos, G., & Stathopoulou, C. (2022). Researching for a mathematics rhizocurrere for culturally responsive teaching: Learning opportunities for students of primary school. PROMETEICA, 27, 668-678. https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2023.27.15362
Lillard, A. S. (2022). Pretending at hand: How children perceive and process puppets. Cognitive Development, 63, Article 101202.
Prahmana, R. C. I., & Istiandaru, A. (2021). Learning sets theory using shadow puppet: A study of Javanese ethnomathematics. Mathematics, 9(22), 2938.
Potgieter, E., & Van Der Walt, M. (2021). Puppetry as a pedagogy of play in the Intermediate Phase mathematics classroom: A case study. Perspectives in Education, 39(3), 121–137.
Παπαδοπούλου Μ., Βίτσου Μ., & Γκανά Ε. (2022). Ο χειρισμός της κούκλας για τη δημιουργία νοήματος: ένα πλαίσιο ανάλυσης πολυτροπικών αλληλεπιδράσεων παιδιών με προσφυγική εμπειρία. Διάλογοι! Θεωρία και πράξη στις επιστήμες αγωγής και εκπαίδευσης, 8, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.12681/dial.28249
Peck, F. (2021). Towards anti-deficit education in undergraduate mathematics education: How deficit perspectives work to structure inequality and what can be done about it. Primus, 31(9), 940-961.
Πεντέρη, Ε., Χλαπάνα, Ε., Μέλλιου, Κ., Φιλιππίδη, Α., & Μαρινάτου, Θ. (2022). Πρόγραμμα Σπουδών Για την Προσχολική Εκπαίδευση – Διευρυμένη Εκδοχή (2η Έκδοση, 2022 ΙΕΠ). Στο πλαίσιο της Πράξης «Αναβάθμιση των Προγραμμάτων Σπουδών και Δημιουργία Εκπαιδευτικού Υλικού Πρωτοβάθμιας και Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης» του ΙΕΠ με MIS 5035542.
Remer, R., & Tzuriel, D. (2015). "I Teach Better with the Puppet" – Use of Puppet as a Mediating Tool in Kindergarten Education – an Evaluation. American Journal of Educational Research, 3(3), 356–365.
Rollnick, M., Jones, B., Perold, & H., Bahr, M.A. (1998). Puppets and comics in primary science: the development and evaluation of a pilot multimedia package. International Journal of Science Education, 20(5), 553-550.
Råde, A. (2022). The use of puppets as a pedagogical tool for young children: A literature review. International Research in Early Childhood Education, 11, 22–40.
Saavedra, A.R., & Opfer, V. D. (2012). Learning 21st-century skills requires 21st-century teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 4(2), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171209400203
Shakespeare, D. (2008). Puppets-talking Science, engaging science: An evaluation of the project. London: Nuffield Foundation.
Simon, S., Naylor, S., Keogh, B., Maloney, J., & Downing, B. (2008). Puppets promoting engagement and talk in science. International Journal of Science Education, 30(9), 1229-1248. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690701474037
Σταθοπούλου, Χ. (2005). Εθνομαθηματικά: Διερευνώντας την πολιτισμική διάσταση των μαθηματικών και της μαθηματικής εκπαίδευσης. Αθήνα: Ατραπός.
Tsaplina, Μ., & Astles, C. (2020). Puppetry. In P. Crawford, B. Brown & A. Charise (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Health Humanities (pp. 296-301). Routledge.
Tilbrook, A., Dwyer, T., Reid-Searl, K., & Parson, J. (2017). A review of the literature-The use of interactive puppet simulation in nursing education and children’s healthcare. Nurse Education in Practice, 22, 73–79.
Yu, C. L., & Wellman, H. M. (2022). Young children treat puppets and dolls like real persons in theory of mind research: A meta-analysis of false-belief understanding across ages and countries. Cognitive Development, 63, 101197.
Vitsou, M., Magos, K. (2023a). ‘Escaping’ with puppets: The contribution of puppetry to the development of intercultural dialogue among inmates. In N. Palaiologou & E. Samsari (Εds.), Intercultural Education on the Move: Facing Old and New Challenges, Conference Proceedings IAIE International Conference (pp. 321-326). Athens. ISBN: 9789090370255
Vitsou, M., & Magos, K. (2023b). Fostering inmates’ self-identity and communication via Drama in Education and puppetry: An action research study at the Volos Youth Detention Centre. Education & Theatre 24, 20–31. https://doi.org/10.12681/edth.36298
Vitsou, M., & Papadopoulou, M. (2023). 'At first it was like a bridge closed from both sides': Pre-service teachers participate in a drama-based project with refugee children. In A. W. Wiseman & L. Damaschke-Deitrick (Eds.), Education for Refugees and Forced (Im)Migrants across Time and Context (pp. 273-286.). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Vitsou, M., Papadopoulou, M. & Gana, E. (2020). Getting them back to class: a project to engage refugee childrenin school using drama pedagogy. Scenario Journal, 1. https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/scenario/article/view/scenario-14-2-3/pdf-en
