Extracurricular Maths as a tool to motivate students interest in Mathematics education
Date
2019-08
Authors
Mumbo, Michael
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Mathematics Education has often been considered as one of the toughest and less exciting
subjects to not only students but also the facilitators (teachers). Various pedagogies have been
put in place but the question we need to ask is, are they sustainable, exciting or relevant to
students? We believe that exposing students to the outside classroom practical, hands on
learning and application of Mathematics in exciting ways to positively change the student
attitude could potentially be what has been missing out in our curriculum. In this context 1m
referring to the outside classroom activities that are aimed at making the teaching and learning
of mathematics to be fun and enjoyable. Many a times students have struggled with
mathematics to an extent that some are left to believe it’s a monster to them. During our annual
blended Kenya Maths camp, besides other themes, we introduce the students and teachers to
some of these mathematical problem-solving sessions, games and ideas that focus on deepening
their understanding of mathematics. The feedback from teachers is that some are emulating
some of these ideas in their classroom session. The students also share these puzzles and the
maths games during their maths clubs in their respective schools.
Description
Paper presented at the 5th Strathmore International Mathematics Conference (SIMC 2019), 12 - 16 August 2019, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
Keywords
Extracurricular, Pedagogy, Maths