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Making Maths More Motivating

Good mathematical skills are crucial for a large number of future professions, especially in the MINT sector, where we are already facing a blatant lack of skilled workers today which will be even more acute in the near future. Here it is important to set the course at an early stage and not wait until the problem has grown.

In discussions between the teachers of the partner schools from Krakow/Poland, Halkalı/Turkey and Buttenheim/Germany, common problems in the teaching subject mathematics were identified: a low motivation to learn, combined with a decreasing willingness of the pupils to make efforts, major weaknesses in basic mathematical skills, and an increasing number of children with symptoms of dyscalculia, sometimes even fear of mathematics. Many pupils are unable to apply what they have learned in mathematics lessons in everyday life.

In the teaching development of the three primary schools, special emphasis is therefore to be placed on the subject of mathematics in order to remedy this problem. This requires a targeted investigation of the causes. The acquisition of basic mathematical skills at elementary level, which enables children to discover mathematics in the world, should also be included. Particular attention should be paid to possible differences between girls and boys and to children from disadvantaged families.

Thus, the ERASMUS+ project "Making Maths More Motivating” aims at motivating pupils to deal with mathematics with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. Pupils should acquire sufficient mathematical skills in a motivating, action-oriented classroom environment, because they will benefit from this not only in their further school careers, but also in future professional training.

Teachers will make concrete connections and relations between mathematics from the textbook and everyday life situations. They ensure that pupils become aware of the importance of mathematics in everyday life. The ability to calculate and the understanding of mathematical connections must be conveyed as something positive and desirable.

Therefore, the methodology of teaching will be analysed in this cooperation. In principle, the partner schools assume that action-guided teaching, in which the pupils work out lesson contents independently or in a team with appropriately prepared materials, can be advantageous compared to frontal teaching. A prerequisite for this is that the pupils have access to a rich, well-structured pool of learning materials that combine the practical application of mathematics with everyday situations. These materials are to be developed for all grades of a primary school in cooperation with the ERASMUS+ project.

At each partner school, a small group is formed with school management and teachers responsible for the project. Their task is to actively involve as many teachers and pupils as possible in the project. A good communication structure among the partner schools is established and also constantly monitored by them, so that all necessary tasks within the project are completed on time.

The visible result of the whole project should be a special learning space (a room prepared especially for doing mathematics) at all three schools, where teachers can enable all pupils to engage in mathematics with growing intrinsic motivation. The new mathematics rooms set up at the schools will become a long-term central element for the mathematics lessons at the schools and will certainly motivate future classes of pupils for mathematics. In addition, the general development of teaching at the schools should also be promoted.