Ensom City uses math expo to motivate kids

A MATHEMATICS expo has been the latest initiative by administrators of Ensom City Primary School in St Catherine to boost students' performance in the subject.

The brainchild of outgoing principal Stanley Jones, the event showcased several human and non-human resources applicable to various mathematical concepts in keeping with the theme 'Our Environment: The Key to Unlocking Mathematics'.

During the opening ceremony, guest speaker Euphemia Robinson, a mathematics specialist employed to the Ministry of Education, implored parents, teachers and students to work collectively to yield better results in numeracy.

Calleen Welch-Pitterson, also a mathematics specialist, told The Gleaner that teachers are being encouraged to employ a number of strategies to stimulate students' interest in the subject.

Hands-on teaching

"We want them to use the hands-on method of teaching. We want them to use the manipulative (method) to get the children to learn the math, apply the math to real-life situations ... be able to recognise teachable moments in the classroom and get the children more enthusiastic," Welch-Pitterson said.

"We also would want teachers to get involved in more research so that they can find other ways to teach math," she added.

Welch-Pitterson said the start-up of math clubs in a number of schools have been impacting students positively.

In the meantime, Pauline Banton, acting principal of Ensom City Primary School, told The Gleaner that while administrators were working to improve the institution's overall performance in the subject, special emphasis was being placed on the Grade Four Numeracy Test.

"In 2009, we got 40 per cent mastery, then in 2010, we fell down to 36 per cent. What we are trying to go is to definitely move that to 40 per cent and beyond. As a matter of fact, with the staging of this expo, we hope we can achieve up to 50 per cent this year," she said.

According to Banton, since the teachers began incorporating things such as games in their teaching strategy, there have been visible improvements in pupils' performances.

Meanwhile, the highlight of the expo was a Math Star competition among students who were organised in four houses. Smith House copped the championship trophy after defeating White House 29-18 in the final.

- Karen Sudu