Mathematics made easy and fun
SANGEETH KURIEN
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Now here’s something to make the subject easy and interesting.
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No longer scary: The Mathematics Labs will make sure students learn faster and better.
The next time your maths teacher tells you that the sum of the three angles of a triangle is 180, you might actually be able to feel and experience the concept. This is precisely the objective of a Mathematics lab proposed by the Central Board of Secondary Education in schools. The lab helps a teacher to visually explain some of the abstract concepts using three-dimensional models. An exhibition of ‘Mathematics laboratory’ with around 120 models that help to ex
plain various mathematical concepts to children is held at the Institute of Scientific Research and Training in Sasthamangalam.
Easing understanding
Some of the ‘basic functions’ of mathematics such as number system, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to algebra and trigonometry can be explained with ease and clarity to the students with the help of the wooden models. One of the primary objectives of the lab is to develop interdisciplinary links with other subjects and to make mathematics more pragmatic and life-oriented at the school level.
“A phobia has already been created in the minds of children by parents and teachers that mathematics is tough to learn,” said Anian Koshy, director of the Institute. As a result, most of the students hate the subject, but parents can do away with this phobia if they kindle an interest in Maths at a young age itself," he said. As per a report published by the State Council for Educational Research and Training a majority of the students who failed in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination in 2006 and 2007 are in Mathematics.”
A maths lab enables students to learn the subject with the help of concrete objects and also verify and discover geometric properties using models and paper cuttings," said Mr. Koshy. For instance at the primary level the study of fractions, conversion of fraction to decimal and vice-versa is a nightmare for students. The teachers too find it difficult to explain these concepts with clarity. There are various models available at the laboratory to overcome this difficulty.
Teaching aids
The items on display for primary and upper primary level include number plates, exterior of a triangle, proof of Pythagoras theorem, area of a circle, net of a cylinder, tangram and fractional kit.
Similarly at the secondary level a large percentage of students learn mathematical theories mechanically due to the absence of proper teaching aid models. The models of algebraic identities will enable students to have a better understanding of theories.
The students will also get an opportunity to do field work such as surveying and finding heights using the instruments kept in the laboratory. At the higher secondary level there are 40 models explaining various theories and concepts. Some of the other activities of the maths lab include celebrating birthdays of famous mathematicians, listening and viewing audio and video cassettes and compact discs relating to different mathematical concepts and conducting experiments.
The Institute, which offers assistance to schools in setting up the lab at the primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels, also distributes posters of eminent mathematicians including Pythagoras, Archimedes of Syracuse, Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal and Charles Babbage.
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