Demystifying Mathematics: Building confidence in young learners

In Ghana, children often struggle with mathematics due to various factors such as gaps in knowledge, teaching methods, language barriers, anxiety, limited practice, or genuinely complex concepts. However, struggling with mathematics should not be taken as a sign of inability. Instead, it might be due to the way mathematics is being communicated.

Imagine a child being asked to act in a foreign language without having learned any of the vocabulary first. They might be able to pass, but the moment the script changes, their performance would collapse. Similarly, when children are introduced to mathematical symbols before fully understanding their meanings, they might memorize the procedure, but when the context changes, their understanding collapses as well.

Mathematics is a language with its own vocabulary, symbols, conventions, structures, and rules for communicating ideas. Terms like "denominator," "numerator," "factor," "multiple," "probability," and "perimeter" must be explicitly taught. However, many everyday words also take on specialized meanings in mathematics, such as "greater," "difference," "average," "product," and "root."

A useful approach to teaching mathematics is to start with real-world experiences, then introduce the language, convey the meaning, represent the concept, and finally use symbols and reason. For example, instead of jumping straight into an abstract equation, a teacher could ask a question involving division in a real-life context, such as sharing 12 plantains equally among three friends. Once the child comprehends the concept through experience, the teacher can then introduce the mathematical representation: 12 ÷ 3 = 4.

In Ghana, children already engage in mathematical activities through everyday experiences like market prices, kitchen measurements, journey distances, and sports statistics. The challenge for parents and teachers is to help children see these connections. By linking everyday experiences to formal mathematics, parents and teachers can build bridges that make the subject more accessible and understandable for children.

Language also plays a crucial role, particularly in Ghana’s multilingual society. A child might understand a mathematical concept in their native language but struggle to express it in English, the language used in the classroom. In this case, the difficulty might not be with mathematics itself, but with the language used to teach it.

To address this, parents can encourage children to articulate their understanding of a problem before attempting to solve it. Everyday activities can also be leveraged as learning opportunities. For instance, fractions can be introduced through food, percentages through shopping discounts, measurement through cooking, and geometry through buildings, rooms, and football fields.

Most importantly, parents should ask how a child knows their answer is correct, rather than just focusing on whether the final answer is right. This encourages children to explain their reasoning and allows adults to identify where their thinking might have gone wrong.