HYDERABAD : Maths phobia is real. Many of us have heard stories about the lengths students and adults go to avoid mathematical calculations. But does it mean that they are inherently bad at maths? Educators believe that the fear of the subject can be addressed to a large extent if children are taught to relate maths to real-life examples. On the occasion of National Mathematics Day (December 22), we ask a few experts about how the subject can be made more fun for learners.
Using real-life examples
Neha Agrawal, who is a master teacher at Vedantu and manages the learning platform’s maths channel, says: “The reason many children grow up fearing maths is because there is more emphasis on problem solving than understanding the basics. They are not taught to connect textbook maths to real-life situations. For example, while explaining geometric progression in my class, I showed the kids how the coronavirus multiplies in the population.
Similarly, I talk about the experience of riding a giant wheel while teaching trigonometry. When I show that real life objects work according to principles of mathematics, children are no longer afraid of it. The fear of maths is enforced by people who are scared of maths themselves.”Dr TP Sasikumar, a space scientist who has a PhD in mathematics, says: “Maths is the language of nature, science and every subject in the world, be it English, history or geography.
Whatever object (or noun) you choose, you have to describe its attributes like size, physical dimensions etc. in numbers. Similarly, history is a study of timelines which are again numbers. If you want to describe how the earth rotates on its axis and how much time does it take to move one degree, you have to take the help of maths again. The problem is that few educators teach the subject in this way. The stress is more on rote learning in schools. As a result, the foundation for learning the subject remains weak among students.”
Visualise
Throwing some more light on the nature of the subject, Rajeswari Bandaru, who was a teacher in SIP Academy and Hyderabad Public School, says: “The reason why so many struggle to relate to maths is because it is an abstract subject. If I ask you to visualise a tree, you can easily do it by imagining one with a trunk, trees and roots. But if I ask you to visualise a number, you see only the number. You cannot see its other attributes. In SIP Academy, where abacus programme is followed, we used to train students to visualise beads when they were asked to imagine numbers.
That helped them in grasping the subject with more self-confidence.” Dr Sasikumar too feels that visualisation is the biggest tool while teaching mathematics. “A simple example of a person looking at a building through a telescope can help you understand trigonometry. The algebra equations that we learnt in school can make everyday calculations easier. However, we need a good mentor/guru to show us how to do it,” he adds.
Interestingly, Rajeswari was an English teacher who started teaching maths because of her love for numbers. When she was young, her parents discouraged her from taking up the subject as it was not deemed fit for a woman. Is there any truth to the popular notion that women score less in crunching numbers? Says Neha, “It’s nothing but a myth, similar to many other sexist ideas that exist even today. The ability to understand maths has nothing to do with gender. Traditionally, more men received education than women, and as a result, we see fewer women in this field.”
While teaching the basics and active visualisation seem to be good ways to get children enthused in the subject, a few are exploring new ways to make mathematics fun for everyone. Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash, who is known as The World’s Fastest Human Calculator, has embarked on a journey to promote maths as a sport. “Through my company Exploring Infinities, we organise these games which are aimed at children and adults. Just as English has Spelling Bee contests, debates, elocution etc., we make games that will help you understand the subject while having fun. On National Mathematics Day, I hosted an event on my YouTube channel in which I played maths games with four stand-up comedians.”
A tribute
National Mathematics Day is celebrated on December 22 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. It was announced by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in 2012.