ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the qualitative methodology and begins with a discussion of personal intuitions that drove the investigation and a description of the obstacles that threatened, early on, to terminate the study. Though Ana appeared to practice instructional routines that corresponded with a Native American way of teaching, she was unable to articulate what she thought a Native American way of teaching might be. The ultimate test for determining the cultural compatibility of Cognitively Guided Instruction was evaluating how this approach influenced the mathematical problem solving ability of Oneida kindergarten children. That mathematics taught in a culturally compatible way will positively influence the mathematical problem solving ability of Native American students. Solving of word problems played a prominent role in the mathematics instruction. The teacher presented the problems and provided the children with counters that they could use to solve the problems; however, the teacher avoided showing the children how to problem solve.
