Teaching Geometry by Integrating Ethnomathematics of Bedouin Values

Numerous researches conducted in recent decades have reported on the difficulties experienced by students learning geometry. The main reason for these difficulties is the gap between the level of instruction and the students’ ability to understand and learn. In other words, the students have a low level of geometrical thinking, while the teachers are attempting to instill knowledge that is at a higher level of thinking than the current level of their students. On this background, we present in this article an ethnomathematical approach combined with Van Hiele’s theory of levels of thinking, with the aim of improving the instruction of geometry by making it effective, interesting, and more successful for students. For this purpose, the article will present Van Hiele’s theory and the various levels of thinking, followed by the characteristics of the stages of thinking and stages of instruction. Other perspectives on learning geometry will be presented in the fifth section, followed by an attempt to explain students’ difficulties in geometry through cognitive load theory and students’ attitudes toward this subject, the ethnomathematical approach and its effect on the instruction of geometry will be presented, finally the effect of integrating cultural values on learning mathematics.