THE PROBLEM
Over the years mathematics has been noted as one of the most challenging subjects for most elementary school students. Therefore, having a solid foundation in their respective courses is very important for them to succeed. According to a review, children are better prepared for success if they learn basic mathematical ideas before entering formal school (Cohrssen et al. 2013). The approach taken when teaching mathematics often fails as the method and media used needs to be altered to achieve a high success rate for all students. Some ideologies by educators that need to be reconstructed to assist in this regard are:
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The idea that only kids with a “mathematics gene” can learn maths
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Mathematics can only be learned with formulas, numbers, etc.
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Sitting in a classroom is the only way mathematics can be taught
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Mathematics is a language that if you don’t grasp immediately, you never will
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Teachers are the only ones that can provide an enriched learning environment
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All these dogmas need to be abolished as they have not been fruitful in the development of children. They have only created walls that hinder students from reaching their full potential in learning mathematics. The fact that mathematics has been taught over the centuries via the “chalk and talk” method has been a major hindrance in the success of students as well. Therefore, they need to be given the opportunity to apply the concepts taught to them in the classroom in real and practical ways so that their brains can recall what they have learned. Children’s understanding of mathematical concepts are not formed in a linear model. It is often multi-dimensional with a series of lines and dots that may not always connect. Opportunities for children to explore mathematic-based ideas in an environment that is relaxing and without the pressure of judgement from other peers needs to be explored as it can help frame their learning.
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THE AUDIENCE
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Learners between the ages of 4-11. This age group was chosen as it’s within the preoperational and concrete operational stages of a child’s life (Piaget's Theory)
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Learners that struggle to grasp some of the concepts in Mathematics
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Learners who want to enhance the knowledge that have gained
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Parents who want to supplement what their children are learning at school
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Teachers who want to have additional resources that are fun for their students that would increase their mental reasoning of the various topics.
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THE OPPORTUNITY
Despite how well-resourced a school may be, there is no certainty that children are going to learn the major concepts of mathematics in classroom. As such, the onus is own teachers, parents, stakeholders to seek out other techniques that can improve the overall understanding of students. Children need to feel encouraged and be guided to extend their knowledge and imagination beyond the classroom. Educators need to also understand that the pedagogical education training they may have received can be altered to suit the learning needs of their students. As such, the problem identified above creates the opportunity for change within the academic field of mathematics. Learning is enhanced when learning experiences are connected to the real world. Learning even the basic concepts can be challenging when taught in artificial or isolated ways. As such, The Cook to Learn Mathematics approach gives students opportunities to improve their Mathematics knowledge in authentic ways that are also fun and engaging.
The platform is organized by age (or grade) and subject area. Each activity begins with the parent or child gathering the list of ingredients needed to prepare the meal. For instance, if the subject selected was Shapes, a simple breakfast item they would prepare would be cereal and milk.
The items needed would be:
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A bowl (circle)
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A cereal box (cuboid)
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Milk (rectangular prism)
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A spoon (oval)
The child would be asked to identify the above shapes from the items listed above. The learning objective would be for the child to see mathematics in everyday items.
Building on children’s informal mathematics knowledge will require going beyond a view of mathematics as a decontextualized and sequenced set of skills that students need to memorize and toward asking questions about and valuing how children use mathematics in their everyday lives. The platform is based on some of the main concepts in the process of social learning which are identification and reinforcement. The process of learning starts with observation. Children identify each item used and the characteristics that make it the respective shape. For example, instead of learning about trees in a book it may be better to learn about them in the forest (real life). Observations made whilst putting together the meal is then recalled at an appropriate time, for eg. during an exam as the topic area was reinforced. One bonus of a child doing the activity alone would be the opportunity for their parent to have one less task to complete as the child can make breakfast or a snack by themselves.
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Cohrssen, C., Church, A., Ishimine, K., & Tayler, C. (2013). Playing with maths: Facilitating the learning in play-based learning. Australasian Journal of early childhood, 38(1), 95-99.
