“Over half of the youth struggling with basic maths”, read an alarming headline about six months back as an inference from a study by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). They found that 43% of 14 to 18-year-olds can perform slightly complicated division problems. Many children struggle with division problems involving 3 digits and 1 digit, even though they should have gained expertise by 7 or 8 years of age. This happens to come from the same country that contributed zero and negative numbers among many pivotal discoveries in the field. Quite ironic, isn’t it?
One can only speculate the reasons behind the debacle, a likely contributor would be the education system itself, which focuses more on cramming up than understanding the concepts in depth. The nature of the subject is such that it doesn’t lend itself to mugging.
Students are mainly taught formulae and ideas from the point of view of exams, as opposed to understanding the underlying concepts and solving problems with a structured approach. This stunts the power of thinking, as a result of which they are unable to think beyond the basics and end up operating like horses with blinders on. A chunk of students also look to avoid maths in the higher grades by choosing Humanities, but it never goes out of their lives, literally. Be it transactions with money or a quick grasp of other financial metrics, numbers are a life-saver and quantify everything.
The need of the hour seems to be a refined approach to learning how to apply the subject practically. This requires a deep understanding of logic and extended thinking, which is not commonly fostered in the case of secondary school children. Concepts can be taught in any manner, but a pedagogy that adopts integrating real-life scenarios with the concepts will go a long way in making the knowledge well-rounded.
Be it a Sudoku puzzle or a basic word problem, solving the right logic or crux makes a world of difference. The student must be able to adopt a creative approach and think out of the box to comprehend the problem well and approach the solution. The Out-Of-the-Box Thinking (OOBT) course offered by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation ticks all these boxes. They have partnered with BodhBridge's Fundaspring to promote this course across multiple schools and students in the country.
Do you know the hidden pattern inside multiplication tables? Number sequences? The OOBT can be an eye-opener in delving and dissecting maths like child’s play. Once the student gets a hang of the nuances, there is a whole, exciting world to dive into. These are some real-world examples of how the course can change the way children view the subject.
The course, which consists of 4 graded independent levels, focuses on multiple problem-solving approaches and aims to impact and benefit 1 million students across the country, apart from working professionals and researchers. It is available free of cost and learners can experience these benefits such as a strong foundation in logic, a wide perspective to tackle problems using various approaches and looking at maths creatively and enjoying it, unlearning and learning concepts that were avoided earlier, unconventional ideas and ultimately, the application of these concepts in the big bad world out there.
OOBT impacts not only the lives of students but also the lives of teachers and the school. Teachers can register to become SPOC (single point of contact) and act as the bridge between the program and the school. Their role is to support, aid and supervise the course implementation in their school.IITM Pravartak intends to acknowledge both the school and its coordinators, as well.
The teachers stand to benefit through becoming strong mentors, experiencing personal growth and development and getting a Certificate of Appreciation from IITM Pravartak. The school gets a major impetus in the form of improved performance from the students’ side and the certificate, as well.
IITM Pravartak Foundation hosted an OOBT SPOC meet on 28th August 2024 for this year’s course, ably supported by BodhBridge Education at Raman Centre, IIT Madras Research Park. It was attended by 123 SPOCs (teachers) from 56 schools. The event commenced with a welcome speech on the significance of maths by Dr. M.J Shankar Raman, CEO, of IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation. This was followed by a very motivating session on context setting by Prof V Kamakoti, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
This was followed by a final session on the course modalities and outcomes by Mr. Sadagopan Ramesh, Founder - Director - Aryabhatta Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Course Instructor, OOBT. An interactive session followed this, where Mr. Balaraju Kondaveeti, CEO, of BodhBridge and Mr. Sadagopan conducted an interesting Q&A session with the audience. Practical insights on successfully implementing the OOBT course in schools were also discussed. Ms. Meenakshi Chidambaram, General Manager, IITM Pravartak, offered a vote of thanks and brought the meeting to a close.
If you are a teacher or a parent looking to empower your child, refer to this link for more information on the course and registration. This is a wonderful opportunity to empower students with the gift of creative thinking, as it will open the doors of a bright future for them. Strong aptitude skills in the subject can go a long way in helping them crack bigger exams in the future. But, even all that aside, it will teach them problem-solving, which will help them ace anything they take up because the world needs more solutions than it has, now. The path to change is just a web page away - register now!
