Music to children's ears as schools aim to end mathematics’ reign of terror

Gone are the days when children feared ‘monster’ mathematics. City schools are coming up with innovative ideas to help students to overcome the fear of numbers and make learning of the subject a fun-filled activity.

Some schools are using music to teach mathematical concepts. IES Vidyamandir School, Bandra, has started using musical beats and rhythms to teach advanced concepts in algebra.

Shubhda Vinekar, principal of the school, said, “Music has always been intricately linked with maths. Teaching numbers through music helps children grasp concepts more easily.

"For instance, a mother walks her fussy baby around the house, singing and patting his back as per the rhythm of the lullaby. She might not know it, but her rhythmic patting is her baby’s first experience of patterning, a mathematical concept linked to advanced maths like algebra.”

Gundecha Academy, Kandivli, went a step further by launching an inter-school maths festival that took children through the life and works of Aryabhatta, renowned ancient Indian mathematician, with the help of a dance drama highlighting his various experiments. It also had skits addressing maths misconceptions; presentations on career options related to the subject; and a number of teaching aids that made learning maths more interesting.

“The festival brought all schools together and we shared ideas to improve the [learning of the] subject,” said Seema Buch, principal of the school. “We conduct special maths classes. We are also planning to have a maths lab.”

Several schools like Utpal Sanghvi, Juhu; Podar International, Santa Cruz; and Billabong High School have introduced maths laboratories and clubs to aid teaching.

IES Vidyamandir has started a maths club to primarily help students to improve their logical thinking and spatial intelligence.

“The club activities are conducted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays," Vinekar said. "They involve a lot of group activities and not just theory. We use a lot of teaching aids and concepts like multiple intelligence to bring out the best of a student’s mathematical skills.”

Abha Dharam Pal, principal, Utpal Sanghvi, Juhu, said, “Maths labs let students visualise, feel and experience maths. Such tools allow students to experiment with maths, and observe the textbook theorems and equations come to life.” The school is also working with the Cambridge International Examinations to develop maths teaching further.

The schools said students’ performance in maths had improved manifold after these initiatives.