My Experiments With Math
Part 1 of the 2-part chronicles of a Math Trainer/Researcher/Lifelong Learner & a Facilitator at Prakriti, Saurabh Suri
My first interaction with children three years back was really exciting.
I saw a great amount of curiosity and inquisitiveness in our children. From there I knew they just needed someone to guide them on the right path. As our name Prakriti signifies the importance of each child's nature or Swabhav, similarly I tried to serve children by identifying their individualistic learning styles.
Each Child takes their own settling time with a new teacher. Hence, we started with a combination of concrete & pictorial activities. Initially, we emphasized on looking at a problem from real life and a multi-dimensional approach hence helping children to discover their own path of learning through experimentation, observation, analysis & a research oriented mindset.
One of the biggest myths with Math is that it must be done fast and mentally. This mindset has only inculcated fear of math and boredom for the subject among our learners.
Learning Math through Patterns…
We pass through places everyday and come across some amazing designs in our surrounding
environment. But we do not stop to observe or even notice the beauty and patterns in them. Hence in this activity we asked learners to spend some time alone, observing their local surroundings and note patterns in them. This in the long term will develop the ability of ‘Deep observation.’
The skills of mindful thinking, deep observation, analysis, reflection and application are extremely useful to build the ability of problem solving
The beauty of Math lies in slow, consistent and mindful observation of our surrounding environment.
We believe that Math is everywhere, and one just needs a different set of lenses to look at Math from another angle. Hence we thought of giving our learners some free space and time , to look at Math differently.
Some of the key skills/ways of learning Math is through:
1) ROM (Research oriented mindset)
2) Questioning
3) Deep Observation
4) Analysis
5) Logic building
6) Connecting learning to real life.
7) Application / usage of learning in real life problem solving.
Here we will reflect on how our approach had been used to sow seeds of essential learning skills mentioned above.
Math , Mechanics and Moral in Spinning wheel (Charkha):
For a few years I had volunteered in Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad. There I not only learnt
Charkha but also unknowingly I started linking spinning wheel to concepts of Math, physics, history, engineering, economics and management. In the process the philosophy of 3 H (Head , Hands and Heart) came alive. My experience in Gandhi Ashram taught me that learning has got to be practical and integrated.
Last year, we tried to use this philosophy of practical learning to conduct our very first sessions on spinning wheels at Prakriti.
Using spinning wheel (Box Charkha) as a tool, we did the following :
How to assemble a Box / Portable spinning wheel
At first we tried to have a conversation with learners about what they think a spinning wheel does. We removed its internal parts and discussed their usage or applications. For instance, in the picture we can see a couple of pulleys attached to the belts. We took this opportunity to discuss the usage of pulleys. Many learners participated and gave their version of the answer.
The idea of learning is not to get the right answer, but to initiate an open discussion for learning in a safe environment.
This also helped us inculcate the value of ‘Questioning approach' some of the discussions were on questions like:
What is a machine?
What is a simple machine?
What is the difference between a simple and a complex machine?
Are all machines useful to humans and the environment?
Have we humans also become machines?
We discussed the purpose of using a spinning wheel. Since it was new to many of them, we started with making thread out of cotton. Making thread out of cotton just by hand in itself was like magic for many. Hence first we learnt how to make thread by hand and then using the spinning wheel
(charkha). We have heard of the term SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work), but it’s done best in this activity of making thread, with coordination of 3H (Head , Hands and Heart) at the same time.
Learners got the sense and feel of the raw material (cotton) and the product being made out of it. The concept of length (mm, cm and meter) could have been experienced simultaneously, in the process of making thread not by teaching but through the process of hands-on work. The concept of strength and tension could also be experienced while making the thread rather than rote learning from books.
Outcome : From disinterest to curiosity
What is the reason that a child who is not able to maintain interest in a class lecture, suddenly is so excited for learning ?
It has been observed that any activity involving learning at a sensory level, is what interests a child and hands-on activities happen to do just the right work at the right time.
Maintaining Right focus:
We use start math classes with mindfulness as base and each learner got the opportunity to try various hands-on activities.
In one such activity, we observed that some children stayed back after the math workshop. On query, they answered that they were trying to work on an experiment of testing the strength of 3D models. This seems to be a good example of taking learning from classroom to real life applications.
In conclusion, teaching Math through observation and experimentation cultivates a mindset of curiosity and discovery, making math more than just rules to memorize. It fosters skills essential for lifelong learning and problem-solving in an ever-changing world.
Insightful article. In class we get asked what is the use of so and so concept in our life by students all the time, especially in maths. I like how the article reiterates the need to go out into surrounding and observe patterns and establish relevance by students themselves.
Congratulations. Keep it up. Good Luck