Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Promoting maths through labs

Staff Reporter

The workshop's objective is to give teachers experience and address common problem areas

CHENNAI: Maths is taught primarily as a set of algorithms aimed at getting the correct answer for a given problem. This approach may have mitigated the objective of Maths appreciation and creativity in learning the subject, because this approach looks only at achieving excellence in the computational aspect of mathematics.

Educational Initiatives, a research organisation that works in diagnostic assessment, teacher training, curriculum services and basic research with schools and teachers of classes III to XII, organised a maths Lab workshop at Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Setting up a maths lab needs to go beyond the allocation of space, time and teacher resource, programme organisers noted and added that it consists of both a physical space and a psychological space. A maths lab like a science lab is an "environment" that promotes `Mathematical' thought through exploration, experimentation, experience and analysis.

The workshop was offered with the collaboration of Gananath — scientist-turned mathematics educator, who took to teaching in schools and now runs `Suvidya' with the aim of promoting the mathematical thinking in children.

Dr. Gananath has got an Ashoka fellowship for addressing "Mathsphobia" through simple but elegant activities, kits, charts and games.

The workshop's objective is to give teachers experience and make models, charts and activities that can address common problem areas in mathematics in primary and secondary school.

Teachers will then be able to appreciate, explore, connect and apply their learning and start `math labs' in their schools.

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