Scitech has been touring the Murray to bring maths to students in the area, as part of the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program (AMEP).
The program kicked off in early April with parent information sessions at North Dandalup, Dwellingup, St Josephs Waroona and Carcoola primary schools, introducing parents and teachers to the program goals and providing resources to supplement their child’s maths lessons at home.
Kelly Cure, a teacher from Carcoola primary school, said the program was about enriching the maths curriculum so children are interested.
“We’ve tried to come up with real-life challenges that can link into as many ideas from the maths curriculum,” Ms Cure said.
She said the students’ challenge at Carcoola will be to design a theme park, using maths to manage costs, space, and more.
Parents can come along to the maths challenge nights on May 30 for Dwellingup PS, May 31 for Carcoola PS, June 1 for North Dandalup, and June 2 for Waroona DHS.
The program, which began in 2012, has reached 3000 teachers, students and parents, with students reporting a 28 per cent increase in their interest in maths, and a 20 per cent increase in confidence and enjoyment during maths lessons.
Scitech chief Alan Brien said program uses “the three-way learning relationship between teachers, students, and parents to make the transition from basic numeracy to more complicated concepts easier.”
“Maths is an important part of so many things in everyday life – from driving a car to planning a budget or analysing a football game,” Mr Brien said.
Alcoa chairman and managing director Michael Parker said: “We need to spark an early interest in mathematics and other STEM subjects if we are going to create a strong pipeline of people pursuing STEM related professions.”
The AMEP will continue working with teachers and provide resources for lessons, and are hosting a family night at Scitech later in the year to put students’ skills to the test.
