The Akan ethnomathematics as pedagogical tool under the context of technology integration in promoting conceptual understanding in mensuration

Seth Amoako Atta, Ebenezer Bonyah, Francis Ohene Boateng and Prince Kusi

African Educational Research Journal
Published: August 15 2025
Volume 13, Issue 3
Pages 342-351
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16881518

Abstract

The objective of the study was to use mortar to teach the concept of the surface area of a cylinder. The target group included knowledgeable Akan traditional artists, seasoned mathematics teachers, and senior high school students from the Ashanti Region in Ghana. Data collection tools included Focus Group Discussions and interviews, with informed consent, privacy, and ethical clearance from the School of Graduate Studies, AAMUSTED. We pre-planned, taught, and assessed two 60-minute lessons on deriving the formula for the surface area of a cylinder. The session utilised technology tools such as: a laptop, projector, cylindrical object images, a tape measure, a cardboard metre rule, activity cards, and the mortar, as a local tool. The analysis of the interview data and the FGD revealed that the Akan culture has connections with school geometry that can enhance relational understanding. We concluded that this approach, aside from improving academic achievement, can also increase student interest, creative skills, critical thinking, innovativeness, help students overcome fear, and, above all, become creative problem-solvers.

Keywords: Akan ethnomathematics, artefact, fufu, mortar.

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