Place-based mathematics and Projection Augmented LandscapeModels (PALM) on the Tiwi Islands: Building Powerful AboriginalHypothetical Learning Trajectory

This paper presents an account of a new place-based education initiative using both the mathematical construct of hypothetical learning trajectory and the 3D printing technology or Projection Augmented Landscape Models (PALM), as a tool for learning. The goal of the pilot study is to create bridges between Aboriginal and Western ways of knowing and learning to enable academic success in the challenging area of mathematics. The project explores powerful ways to construct cultural learning trajectory in which Tiwi preservice teachers can apply their prior traditional knowledge to their learning and teaching of Western mathematical constructs, within the Australian curriculum strand of geometry/measurement. The outcomes of this unique Tiwi project are significant because it is an applied research project using 3D PALM technology for educational purposes, particularly knowledge exchange in Aboriginal contexts. This application is unique as such technology to date has been used largely in applications related to land management.