PR:  Third Math-A-Thon took place at the COMSATS University Islamabad with the aim to break the chain of traditional teaching methodology for mathematics. The students created the new and exciting ways of teaching mathematics to the school goers by using sports and local games.

The Math-A-Thon initiative was jointly taken by Comsats University, Code for Pakistan, Numaish Karachi and Alif Ailaan, in collaboration with the Pakistan Alliance for Math and Science. Several Math-A-Thons are being planned to be held all across Pakistan in different universities.

Total sixty teams from ten different departments of Comsats join the students of three girl’s high schools and three boy’s high school. Every team consists of three university students and one student each from government schools.

Children tend to learn and used mathematics in the daily life from very early age. Our current education system sparing no efforts to make the theoretical mathematical concepts relevant to the daily lives of the children. The critical thinking of children is hampered by the prevalent culture of rote-learning and result-based outcomes in education system resulting in poor learning.

The Annual Status of Education Report 2016 (ASER) uncovers that more than 50% of grade 5 students can’t perform two-digit division sum bases on the educational modules of grade 2. The math score for the Class IV students in the NEAS exams conducted in 2016 was 484 out of 1,000.

With the present level of learning results of children’s, the requirement for advancement in the traditional style of teaching and learning must be addressed as priority. Gamification of science is one stage towards breaking the chain of traditional technique for teaching mathematics.

Dr Seemab Latif was of the view that she had picked up a few fascinating concepts during the students presentations and suggested universities and involved institutions to organize school-level Math-A-Thons to popularize math learning.

All the participating groups was awarded with cash prizes and certificates by the judges panel consisting of Zain Maken (Teach for Pakistan), Faisal Laghari (LearnOBots), Dr Seemab Latif (AWAZ), Neha Noor (Pakistan Innovation Foundation), Badar Muneer and Amal Hayat from the Knowledge Platform, and  Masud Ahmad Deputy Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO).