The local lotto curriculum is a good example of authentic literacy pedagogies in this context, for maths learning. Authentic literacy pedagogy ensures that students' learning is relevant and authentic to their lived and everyday experiences. The Local Lotto curriculum is designed specifically for high-school students and consists of fourteen sessions that teach mathematics by exploring their local lottery system. The curriculum objectives explore various aspects of the lotteries, such as the winners, participants, revenue, and prize distribution. By engaging with the local lottery phenomenon, students could connect with their community and meet the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. Local Lotto was developed and piloted as part of a more significant effort involving MIT's Civic Data Design Lab (CUP), the Center for Urban Pedagogy, and CUNY's Brooklyn College. This place-based curricular module incorporated geospatial technologies to facilitate this experience involving web-based apps that assisted and enabled the students in data collection and exploration. These modules allowed students to explore the urban environment, collect data and use geospatial software to organize and visualize patterns.

Web application for curriculum with map displaying the percentage of income allocated to lotteries in different neighborhoods as students analyze the data.

This curriculum’s approach has its strength in its use of mathematical concepts in real-world situations that are place-based and relevant to learners, which helps students understand the logic behind lotteries and a way to calculate their impact. However, this approach has potential weaknesses, including limited technology access that may hinder some students from participating fully. In addition, some students, even if they have access, may need help with the media literacy necessary to navigate the geospatial tools, which could be a barrier to their participation.

References:

Lim, V., Rubel, L., Shookhoff, L., Sullivan, M., & Williams, S. (2016). The Lottery is a Mathematics Powerball. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 21(9), 526-53.