We learn to apply Maths in everyday situations

One of the aims of our Mathematics Curriculum is for students to be able to apply Maths in everyday situations. At NAIS Pudong our aim is to show the importance of Maths outside of the classroom, showing how the subject can link to all subjects in the curriculum and how these skills can be used in later life beyond school.

As an experienced mathematics teacher, key for me has been to take the concepts studied and make them relevant to all students regardless of their abilities or level of interest in the subject. For many students seeing that a concept can be linked to areas of their own personal interest or to their day-to-day life leads to greater engagement and a more fulfilling experience.

For example, when teaching percentages, it is easy to connect this to shopping. Students will often see signs displaying a percentage reduction when an item is on sale. In China the signs used for a sale display the percentage after reduction not the percentage reduced. This small difference in the way sales are displayed can create a conversation about notation used around the world and has links with Global Perspectives.

At IB, the importance of mathematics becomes more visible with students discussing its role in Theory of Knowledge lessons. Students debate ideas such as “is mathematics discovered or invented?” “Is mathematics a universal language?” “Do statistics conceal as much as they reveal?”. Alongside this, students can implement skills and concepts they have learnt in Mathematics to support their Internal Assessments in Humanities. The IB Mathematics course teaches students how to collect a sample of a population in different ways that can then be used for projects in subjects like Psychology and Geography. They also learn about different statistical tests for correlation and relationships that can link to other Humanities and Science subjects. In this way the other subjects give students a context in which to explore and further understand mathematics within and beyond the classroom.