Life is a Math Erasmus Project

Project Title

Life is a Math

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Pedagogy and didactics; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

Many of the countries in the world have been facing problems with teaching mathematics according to TIMMS and PISA results.Countries, which are constantly in search of mathematics education, try to make a math policy at EU standards. Although there are those who are very successful in mathematics and problem solving skills in European countries, the number of countries that have not achieved this level is also quite high. While Some of our project partner countries are below the math average of OECD countries, while others have reached the average. The main problems in failing to acquire mathematics literacy skills is; shortly saying our students do not know how to use that information even though they take mathematical information.Our children cannot adapt mathematics to their daily lives. Because they are afraid of mathematics and find mathematics boring. Therefore, even a child with a high mathematical capacity and skill fails due to this attitude and indifference towards mathematics.
There are dozens of reasons for these disruptions in teaching and learning mathematics.
As a result of the literature review; the teacher and curriculum that insist on traditional teaching methods and cannot update themselves according to their needs, lack of student’s motivation,the negative home history of the student, the effect of the negative parent profile on the learning process,can be mentioned on this issue.
While we are doing these studies, we mostly focus on finding schools that have same trouble with us on teaching mathematics in the social field but also in search of innovative ideas.
While doing this, we also looked at the PISA 2015 data of the countries. We have made a comparison between countries in mathematics literacy. Since being successful in mathematics is a need that covers whole Europe, as schools who are seeking local solutions in the field of mathematics, we would like to come together to meet this need.In this aspect, we think that there are many positive values that will be added us as partner countries. Their experience and the offer of cooperation in teaching mathematics motivates us.
When we receive grant support for our project, we will go a long way in mathematics teaching as 3 partner schools. Because we always care about collective mind, consultation and cooperation. Our partners think that students have low math motivation and they attribute failure to it. They are looking for more innovative, didactic applications. Our students’ motivation is partially low, teacher lost in the curriculum. Our students need colorful activities, math games,different team work.
Local and national exams in mathematics achievement in some countries constantly being tested. That’s why their students have a constant test pressure on them.That prevents them from an ideal mathematics learning. Our most important philosophy in this project is: “Neither Math is a nightmare, nor failure is destiny.”
The aim of the project is to make children love mathematics, for this to assist teachers professional background, capabilities and innovations, To give concrete examples rather than abstract concepts and expressions. When they embody mathematics and manage to establish a relationship between everyday life and mathematics, they will realize that mathematics is a part of life. Children are most serious when playing games.
For this reason, it would be a great deficiency not to use gamification method in mathematics teaching. With this project, by starting from our project partner schools, we would like to make a difference in teaching maths. Our goal is to remove the barriers between children and the curriculum and to make them love it, to update our teachers with this century’s skills, to improve students’ literacy to have a beneficial learning. By creating a joint mathematics program with the project countries,to implement the program during the project as a pilot at the class level and to follow the results. Our aim is also to spread the project with partner countries and continue it in different schools even if the process is over.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 74380 Eur

Project Coordinator

marathon science school & Country: UK

Project Partners

• ÖZEL ÇEKMEKÖY İSABET ORTAOKULU
• ÖZEL OSMANGAZİ ORTAOKULU