Campus Talk: With a skit, a race, and games, MSc students in Mumbai turn Math fun for school kids
Every December, Sigmatics, Homi Bhabha State University’s annual mathematics festival, makes maths interesting—and less intimidating—for students from 20 schools.
The event aims at generating interest in the subject among students who are either bored or fearful of mathematics, particularly due to how it is taught in schools. (Express Photo)
Imagine learning trigonometry or mathematical logic by participating in a skit, understanding concepts like infinity and binary numbers with playing cards, playing math-themed games such as musical chairs, or taking part in a relay race where you pass solved sums, instead of a baton.
All this is part of Sigmatics, a festival of the mathematics department at the Homi Bhabha State University (HBSU) in Mumbai. The event aims at generating interest in the subject among students who are either bored or fearful of mathematics, particularly due to how it is taught in schools. Through Sigmatics, HBSU’s mathematics department is trying to change this perception—a 100 students at a time.
Held in the second week of December this year, Sigmatics is a one-day event that includes various engaging math activities. Every year, 20 schools, with five students each, are invited to participate.
The entire event is managed by first-year MSc Mathematics students, who are asked to reach out to their schools directly to ensure a familiarity quotient.
The idea, according to HBSU’s mathematics department, is to provide students with a platform for experiential learning, which is more interesting than learning mathematics in a classroom. (Express Photo)
Selby Jose, a professor at HBSU’s mathematics department who started Sigmatics a few years ago, said, “With lesser age-gap, school students find them to be more relevant and can freely participate in the activities.”
The day features several competitions, such as a quiz, sudoku, making geometrical shapes in soap water, figuring out a word based on mathematical symbols, etc. The idea, according to HBSU’s mathematics department, is to provide students with a platform for experiential learning, which is more interesting than learning mathematics in a classroom.
For example, this year’s skit, based on mathematical logic, had MSc students enacting a robbery in a house. A few characters were introduced as suspects, and the school students were encouraged to ask questions and apply mathematical logic to identify the culprit.
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There was also an essay-writing competition, with topics to understand school students’ relationship with mathematics, such as fear of the subject, what they enjoy in it, etc. The responses help the university plan the event more effectively next year, to inspire more students to pursue mathematics for higher education.
Akshat Chaube, a second-year MSc Mathematics student at the department, was a participant at Sigmatics in 2018. A Class 9 student from a Bandra school, then, he says he always liked mathematics. “But it was the immersive experience in mathematics on the day of Sigmatics that really inspired me to take up mathematics for higher education,” he said.
Jose also spoke about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) was gaining momentum, with many wanting to pursue it for higher education. “But its basis is mathematics. We are learning AI, which is already developed by someone. To study it beyond that point, one will require knowledge of mathematics,” he said, highlighting the reason behind various such outreach programmes by the department.
Other programmes include a similar, fun-filled mathematics day at a Palghar school, where HBSU’s mathematics department played a significant role in creating a mathematical garden. The university is also planning to create a short course in mathematics and data science to offer it as a Co-Curricular (CC) Course to BSc Mathematics students from colleges offering the undergraduate degree.
Pallavi Smart is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai Bureau. Her reporting is singularly focused on the education sector, demonstrating exceptional Expertise and Authority across the entire spectrum of learning, from foundational schooling to advanced higher education. She is a highly Trustworthy source for policy, institutional developments, and systemic issues affecting students, teachers, and parents in Maharashtra.
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The idea, according to HBSU’s mathematics department, is to provide students with a platform for experiential learning, which is more interesting than learning mathematics in a classroom. (Express Photo)
