AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Quality Education
KEYWORDS
mathematics , Interactive learning
COUNTRY
Ireland
DESIGNED BY
Paul Hendrick
WEBSITE
https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/2022/project/m%C3%A9ad%C3%BA-may-do/
Méadú
Interactive math learning device.
How does it work?
The design has several features, the multiplication table is the main feature of the product. It is a 12 by 12 grid showing the multiples of 1 times 1 up to 12 times 12. The second one is the whiteboard, which is located on the underside of the central board and offers the students an open-ended tool for use during lessons. The board can be used for general rough work or draw when combined with the sliders and their rulers.
The sliders, previously mentioned, are used with both the multiplication table and the whiteboard. For the multiplication table, the sliders are used to align with input numbers on the edges of the board and intersect to highlight the product of the two numbers. There's also the Maths Fact Sheet, located underneath the central board for easy-to-access facts for use during lessons.
Why is it needed?
Teachers in Ireland flagged that there was a drop off in physical maths resources for the older year groups in primary education. When asked about topics that are often found difficult to comprehend by student, especially those that have already began to develop a fear of math's, they said that multiplication is often one of the harder concepts to understand and doesn’t have a lot of physical resources.
How does it improve life?
The product and its physical and interactive nature provide children and educators with a transition to more practical maths lessons. Considering the attention span a child has nowadays and the different learning abilities, it is important to have access to alternatives, the design proposes a visual and kinetic educative process.