Calls for more creative class approach to maths

LEAVING Certificate results underline the need for a more creative approach to engage young people in the promotion of maths and science, it was emphasised yesterday.

The suggestion came from the managers of the award-winning Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science & Technology (CALMAST) at Waterford Institute of Technology.

Dr Sheila Donegan and Eoin Gill received the Descartes Prize for Science Communication from the European Commission this year. They say engaging proactively with primary schoolchildren has potential for sparking the children’s interest in science, engineering and technology — an interest they can pursue at second-level and in higher education.

“It is a pressing national priority to build up our knowledge base across maths and the sciences but real progress will only be achieved when we work constructively with young people to show them maths and science can be interesting and challenging,” said Dr Donegan.

“Children at primary school are naturally curious and it is this curiosity that offers the greatest potential for getting and keeping them interested in how things work — the essence of what maths and science are about.”

CALMAST coordinates this year’s Maths Week Ireland with events at 15 centres countrywide from October 15.