The students of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Arcot, were thrilled to have foreign scientists teach mathematics to them in their classrooms, during an International Scientists-Students Meet organised jointly by the Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF) and the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMS), Chennai, at the school premises on Thursday.
“What is a + b whole squared” asked a scientist who sat along with the students in the classroom. “A squared + b squared + 2 ab” pat came the reply. The scientist immediately went to the blackboard and explained the formula to the students by drawing a simple diagram which the students understood clearly.
Foreign scientists relished the experience of teaching mathematics to the school students. The students were so thrilled that they surrounded each scientist who came out of the classroom and took autographs from them.
32 scientists, software experts and mathematics teachers from different states in India and different countries who were attending a five-day Conference on Creative Mathematical Sciences Communication at IMS, Chennai, from Monday onwards agreed to visit the Arcot school on Thursday to study the teaching of mathematics and to have an interaction with students and teachers.
They wanted to impart the techniques for making mathematics teaching/learning simple and easy among the students at a time when most students had an aversion to mathematics.
The conference aimed at improving the communication of modern mathematics to school students – spreading mathematics teaching/learning techniques through radio/TV/newspapers and through direct interactions with students and teachers.
Methods of spreading mathematics through mobile apps would also be explored. .
A computer hardware device which could be connected to a computer for performing nearly 400 experiments in Physics was gifted to the school.
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