Research on an indigenous educational system of an endangered culture in
Kenya by two College of Education professors was recently recognized by the
UGA chapter of Sigma Xi.Norman Thomson, an associate professor of science education, and Jepkorir Rose Chepyator-Thomson, an associate professor of physical education and sport studies, received the 2003 Most Outstanding Research Paper Award from the local chapter of the scientific research society with a membership of nearly 75,000 scientists and engineers.
Their paper titled, “Keiyo Cattle Raiding, Kechui Mathematics and Science Education: What Do They Have In Common?”, was selected from among submissions of science research papers throughout the UGA campus and local research laboratories of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency which were published in 2002.
Their research, published in Interchange, a quarterly review of education
published by the University of Calgary in Canada, focuses on the Keiyo of
Kenya, who have a rich educational system. It looks at an indigenous game,
Kechui (using calculations based on cattle raiding) and the Keiyos’ use of
the game for learning mixed strategy-based probabilistic problem solving.
Their research finds that Kechui may also have international potential for
teaching probabilistic problem solving in contemporary mathematics and science,
especially genetics.The two faculty members co-direct the College’s month-long Kenya Study Abroad Program, approved by the Regents in 1999.
Thomson, who has a PhD in science education, and Chepyator-Thomson, who has a PhD in curriculum and instruction, both from the University of Wisconsin, joined the UGA faculty in 1996.
Monday, December 1, 2003
WRITER: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu
CONTACT: Norman Thomson, 706/542-4645, nthomson@coe.uga.edu
Rose Chepyator-Thomson, 706/542-4434, jchepyat@coe.uga.edu