Maths + Culture
Many children fear mathematics. In rural Africa, some do not have desks, books, blackboards or even classrooms to use at school. For girls, the chances of building a maths-based careers in Science, Technology or Engineering, is very low because of societal hurdles and negative perceptions towards mathematics. This is all further complicated by poor teaching.
Maths+Culture program, uses local available and familiar culture to illustrate to children, the application of mathematics in everyday life (a low-cost and sustainable approach). Combining analog innovations with training and monitoring applications, delivers a pragmatic and scalable teacher re-training model to reach millions of children.
By understanding mathematics, girls are nurturing their problem solving, creative thinking and survival skills. They are being better prepared for a changing world - where the jobs of tomorrow are not yet known.
Many fear mathematics! In rural Sub Sahara Africa, mathematics is traditionally viewed as a “hard, difficult and elitist” subject. Girls are particularly challenged or distracted from concentration in class by home chores, family obligations, health issues etc. Some rural communities even think that the subject is reserved for only boys.
"Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the world’s highest increase in total primary school enrollment" with more than 23 million children entering the classroom for the first time. But in Uganda for example, "one of three children will survive to primary 7 and 15% who make it to primary 7 are unable to do simple arithmetic” (e). The UN-Women, further observes that, although more girls are enrolled in school than before, girls are significantly under-represented in STEM subjects in many settings and seem to lose interest in STEM subjects as they approach adolescence.
References:
b) article on UNESCO conference on Gender-Responsive STEM Education
c) The 13th Uganda Economic Update Report – World Bank, May 2019
We have developed an innovative mathematics teaching approach that uses learning aids drawn from the local culture to explain and simplify concepts to children. We have also developed a database tool to track the learning and progression in the class.
Even if they are not going to school, children in rural Sub-Sahara Africa make, know and use cultural objects from the environment or at home. Many of these cultural objects are intrinsically very mathematical. Examples of crafts and trades include:- Hair Braiding, Making Mats, Weaving Baskets, Knitting Table clothes, Making Toys (dolls and balls), Cultural dance etc. The homes in disadvantaged areas all have a bit of culture surrounding them. Our Intervention asks the parents and students to bring these objects to class. These are then used by the teacher to explain mathematics. In the process the community is propagating both culture and mathematics. This approach is LOWCOST and SUSTAINABLE.
Teachers are re-trained through video-based modules and content. They are then given an application to help monitor progress of learning. The teachers join online network of support workgroups to share feedback and champion solutions from their experiences.
Uganda has 8.6 million children in 19,718 Primary Schools - 50% of the learners are female.
Currently we are completing the first pilot year of our project. We have trained 30 teachers who are teaching 1042 children in North West Uganda: Pakanyi area, Masindi district. These children from mainly peasant families which earn less than 1 dollars a day, usually from farming. Most children are between the ages of 3 to 16. Girls account for 70%.
In the next phase, we hope to scale up to the regions and reach more children. Focus is on primary school going girls from disadvantaged homes; (rural areas, poverty stricken, warn-torn, displaced, in drought...)
We focus on children because they are the future of our economy. Unfortunately, our current workforce is unprepared for the realities of the future. We are releasing graduates for jobs that will no longer existing in the next 10 years.
References:
b) 2017 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report
c) A survey by Inter-University Council for East Africa 2014
- Strengthen competencies, particularly in STEM and digital literacy, for girls and young women to effectively transition from education to employment
The program is tailored to use objects that girls are familiar with from the domestic settings such as hair braiding or domestic utensils as aids to ease learning of mathematics - and engage the community in teaching. Use of locally available objects overcomes the chronic shortage of learning aids in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. With more understanding and appreciation of mathematics, girls will venture into STEM subjects and careers, thus improving opportunities for better pay, better maternal health and better wellbeing. The program also nurtures entrepreneurial skills, grooming women who can address global challenges creatively.
- Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community
- A new business model or process
A combination of 'Analogy and Computing' technology
Our approach draws already existing aids (culture is all around us). It is therefore a welcome route for families and communities to support heritage, preserve good traditions and strengthen culture. Culture is an asset that every household has - even a migrant family. The use of culture in the classroom is a language that all including girls, will understand: it is also a route to involve the parents, guardians, and local community in learning / teaching their children (participation). It therefore builds a sense of ownership and makes the intervention sustainable.
The second differentiator is the use of technology with video modules for training teachers, M&E tool to track learning and support of teachers' focus groups. The seeds of innovative thinking among the teachers and the analytical skills among the learners, are being planted.
This approach is a low-cost route because many objects are made from local and free resources. For example a ball from banana leaves, a mat from papyrus, braiding your own hair. (In some schools, there has been a secondary benefit of passing on a skill or trade of craft making). But perhaps the best advantage of culture is the simplicity and ease with which it illustrates particularly difficult maths / concepts: it makes maths a fun game, a joy, a basket, a hair piece, a clothe, a dance... (the learner now realises why it is important).
In rural areas, the reality is that most teachers and parents are not as tech-literate nor connected to the internet. The schools are under funded, neglected, inefficient and lose human capital to their urban counterparts. So our approach is strategically hands-on, incorporating context specific needs, and draws from locally available resources. Although this is mainly ‘analogue’ in nature, we are developing an innovative application that will run on smart phones to:
- Tap into and formalise the existing teacher networks,
- Create teacher workgroups that allow teachers to motivate each other
- Empower the schools to monitor and evaluate the new interactive teaching and its impact
- Lower training costs, through use of videos in some sessions to train teachers.
The software will include an assessment module at various stages, in order to gauge the arithmetic skills and deficiencies of children as they progress. This will inform teachers on how to adjust the teaching aids to suit the different learning levels of the children.
So our solution is double pronged:
(a). The use of a mobile smartphone application to aid in training and supporting teachers in (b). the use of culture (local objects and ways of life) to illustrate of mathematics in everyday life.
The next level of innovation will be to use AI to identify mathematics concepts in everyday domestic objects, so as to build a versatile rich catalogue that can be applied in different communities in different locations (of different cultures).
The use of an online application to training teachers or monitor progress of learning is very common in the e-learning ecosystems for example: For example MIT's OpenCourseWare at ocw.mit.edu or EDx
The application we are developing has:
- Teach training material packaged in a series of Video
- A monitoring and evaluation tool for collection and analysis of Data
One of our founders, Dr.Janet Kaahwa, is a pioneer in Ethno-mathematics (culture and mathematics) and related teacher education in Uganda.
Below are some papers of her research publications, illustrating that culture can be used to improve understanding of mathematics, and the approaches to encouraging more females to take on mathematics.
b) Janet Kaahwa - The Experiences of Ugandan Females in Mathematics
- Audiovisual Media
- Software and Mobile Applications
Education systems are culturally embedded and, therefore, difficult to improve without understanding actions, beliefs, and attitudes related to education, existing within the culture. Culture therefore plays a role in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Our intervention specifically dwells on the ways culture could benefit learners from disadvantaged parts of the world, including girls or those in emergencies. At a societal level, culture can act as a medium of communication of mathematics, can be a glue, a transition bridge, and a liberator.
The importance of using locally available materials when teaching maths has been revealed in findings from 15 years of research into mathematics education in rural settings. At Rutindo School, a primary school in Masindi, Western Uganda, we have refined this approach by involving local teachers and learners in the process of scouting around their homes and environment to identify cultural objects, and creatively linking them to mathematical concepts. Rutindo's Math+Culture program supported teachers to translate these links into lesson plans that employ new methods of teaching primary maths concepts.
We have packaged our intervention into a lesson Planning guide, a training program for teachers, and a scalable after-school mathematics session, all moderated via an application. Through these programs, the beneficiaries, (the learners) gain concrete and abstract problem solving skills and critical thinking abilities, to help understand mathematics today, while laying the foundations to make them more employable and entrepreneurial for the future.
The teaching approach uses cultural items and local objects to demystify and reinforce the importance of math to girls:
- Change attitudes towards mathematics.
- Support practicing teachers
- Encourage student self learning
One of our program objectives is to also inject a passion and innovative thinking among these teachers.
References:
- Women & Girls
- Children & Adolescents
- Rural
- Peri-Urban
- Low-Income
- 4. Quality Education
- 5. Gender Equality
- Uganda
- Tanzania
- Uganda
During the first pilot in 2018/2019, we trained 30 teachers who in turn reached over 1042 children in 4 schools, changing attitudes to the subject.
In the next year, we hope to scale up to second region in the country, and reach 5,000 children through 200 teachers. Focus is on primary school going girls from disadvantaged homes; (rural areas, poverty stricken, warn-torn, displaced, in drought...)
By Year 5, we will have completed modularisation for the service and plan to cross to the regional countries (Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya) and reach over 2 million children, by training over 5,000 teachers, who will in-turn orient and transform the mathematics departments in their schools.
1 year Goal: To change the attitudes of girls to mathematics
5 Year Goal: Promote an improved curriculum, to establishment of a more equitable education system that improves learning.
At the micro level, we are re-skilling teachers with tools to make them more attractive to (and more effective for) their employers – the schools. This creates economic opportunity for an under- appreciated skill (teaching) and generates long-term social impact. At a macro level, we are cultivating innovation. We would like to show both learners and their teachers, that mathematics is apart of everyday life. It is beautiful and relevant. It is a skill that they will need in order to progress and build a career.
Unfortunately, the country's workforce is unprepared for the realities of the future. We are releasing graduates for jobs that will no longer existing in the next 10 years. Many do not even make it through school: a 2017 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, notes that in almost half of countries surveyed, less than one in two youth complete secondary school. Furthermore “between 51% to 63% of the graduates (from East Africa’s Universities) were found to be ‘half-baked’, ‘unfit for jobs ‘ and ‘lacking job market skills’. The worst records were in Uganda (63%) and Tanzania (61%).” (a)
References:
a) A survey by Inter-University Council for East Africa 2014
We have 2 distribution channels and impact routes available to us. We could train teachers in various schools with new skills, in which case our entry point would be the schools. Or we could directly reach the children through after school classes, in which case the primary stakeholders would be the parents. In either case, the endorsement of the local education officials, and the national education ministry is important.
A big hurdle we faced in the beginning was the corruption and bureaucracies at the ministry of education. We will definitely face these in each new jurisdiction we attempt to enter. It is therefore important to first understand the prevailing local policies and goals of the ministry.
Operational Challenges:
The school calendar in East Africa is Janaury to December with 3 academic terms in a year. This cycle of holiday, school opening, teaching, exams session and close of the term meant that we had to structure our training intervention in this cycle so as to get teachers when they are available.
Another challenge will be the inconsistency in occurrence of the mathematics classes in rural school. Pupil fluctuations especially in the government rural schools makes it difficult to plan for the lessons. Furthermore, absenteeism of teachers in the upper classes was prevalent in the government schools (this reiterates the question if learning could be extended to the homestead?).
Because of high teacher turnover in some schools, we need to structure our cycle for maximum impact given the short training spells.
Choice of channels: Our pilot year, has been the first model, and we have built strong relationship with the district education officials and the national ministry of education. We will therefore continue with this tested and successfully model, while we investigate if it is worth it to adopt or incorporate some elements of the direct-to-learners model.
Bureaucracy: In the case of Uganda, there is currently a drive to shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered education. By showing the officials how our programs align with this vision, they started to support our campaign.
It is also important to win over local ‘champions’ and ‘authorisers’ in these institutions. These are individuals in decision-making positions, who can share in the vision of the program. We intend to build these networks into strong relationships that will support our interventions.
Haphazard schedules: Our strategy will be to consult the the head teachers and teachers in the schools about their teaching schedule and illustrate to the need for the intervention. We have seen improved and consistent classes by teachers who appreciate the need to improve delivery of mathematics. Even the parents realise that maths is important after attending our needs assessment sessions. We also engaged and asked the District Inspector of Schools, to assist and monitoring some classes.
Innovation: We have organised the teachers into focus groups, where they can encourage, assist and critic each other. Through these forums, they gain momentum to improve, and learn new ideas from each other.
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Full time staff: 3
Part - time: 5
Contractors: 2
FOUNDERS:
1. Andrew Amara – Project Manager, 50%.
Is a licensed Architect, award winning Entrepreneur.
Roles: overall project supervision and administration
2. Dr. Janet Kaahwa – Project Coordinator, 100%
Is a Mathematics education researcher and teacher training, 30 Yrs
Roles: develop content / curriculum for the training program
3. Dr. Yusto Kaahwa - Project Coordinator, 100%
Physics Professor, and STEM teaching methods expert, 40 Yrs
Roles: oversee the improvement of teaching methods
Key Project Staff
4. Carol Kahuma – Curriculum Developer, 80%
Sciences teacher with experience in currirulum development
5. Joseph Tumwekwase – Accountant, 100%
Qualified accountant with over 15 years experience in the donor sector, and NGOs.
6. Ronald Kumbuka – Graphic Illustrator, 100%
Graphic artist
7. Peter Kafuko – MEL officer, 100%
Qualified Monitoring and evaluation expert, with over 15 years experience in the donor sector, projects for UN, USAID.
Maths Teachers: - Aganira Florence - Jowala Katusabe - Kyalisima Sharon - Ngonzebwa Irene - Wabyona Samuel - Mugidde Lorna
ADVISORY TEAM:
Harriet Busingye - Governance & Legal Expert, 20 yrs
Currently working with USAID
Anthony Lubandi - Auditor, Accounts 15 yrs
Former head of finance at Sanlam, currently head of administration at Kwese Sports Uganda
James Alituhikya - Technology Expert
Founder of ChapChap, and Android Applications expert
Esther Kantate - Child care specialist
Child psychologist and teacher trainer
Operations team is 80% Youth, and 55% Female. We have strategic institutional partnerships in academia, and from the ministry of Education.
i. Australia Aid through Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continue to support technical assistance to the project team. They are currently supporting the services of a business sustainability consultant to advise of the project model, and a communication specialist to assist the project is documenting and crafting stories of our process and impact.
ii. Basic Department at the Ministry of Education:
The Ministry of Education has invited and added us to their working group of partners. They are also keen to look at the findings of the baseline and evaluation reports. We are to schedule future presentations to the Department.
iii. Kamurasi Teacher Training Centre:
Kamurasi National Teacher Training College, a government institution, has partnered with us to enrich our teacher training program, by offering tutors for certain modules.
iv. The Project has received endorsement from the local district education office and encouragement from the district education officers. The department officers participated in monitoring and evaluating the project.
Other institutional connections:
- Makerere University: Academicians doing related research at the university
- Town Build Limited: Private sector development company that helps in development advise and management
- Walyoba Church and St. Pauls Pakanyi Church help us to better reach the community by disseminating our message.
- Individual donors from UK how provide funds for school infrastructure
We consulted Compassion - Uganda, several times, to benchmarking their MEL structure.
The end beneficiary are the girls of school-going age (5-15) and the conduit for impact is the teacher, whom we would reach through the school (because of institutional advantages). Most of the schools want better mathematics performance results, more STEM Alumni and enhanced reputation. We also engage education-sector Institutions that would be interested in this channel of reach and impact
Our Value Proposition for teachers:
- Professional Development for teachers (and Certification)
- Increased Professional Standing
- Opportunity for Income Augmentation through a franchise Maths club framework
Our Value Proposition for Learners / Parents:
- Learners gain comprehension in mathematics, skills in problem solving and critical thinking
Process:
1) Interested schools purchase the training program for their teachers (payment could be by the school, donor organisation or parents community)
2) Through interactive sessions we training the teachers
3) Trained teachers have the option to go on to form Maths+Culture clubs, (a franchise model that allows trained / certified teachers, to conduct after-school maths sessions for learners in their local community)
3) Through a licensing structure, trained teachers, access varied support services, mentorship and followup in order to maintain quality and brand.
The Model is to spread a new teaching approach through a series of intense community-based, teacher trainings, that deliver an innovative lesson planning guide.
The lesson planning guide has been structured into a format that is applicable to the curriculum in the different countries in the region.
- Organizations (B2B)
The operations model is to spread a new teaching approach through a series of intense community-based, teacher trainings, that deliver an innovative lesson planning guide.
Use of training videos, and an app to provide content and support to trained teachers, minimise program overheads.
The teacher trainings are paid for by the school, or donor organization or parents community or the teacher. By riding on the Education Ministries' appreciate of Comprehension instead of "cram-work", we hope to attract players in the sector.
Our main thrust is to get the school to appreciate the value of the re-training and pay for it.
We are selling and planting a seed of innovation in children, through the newly trained teachers. Our service is embodied in the lesson planning guide, that we issue to teachers as a physical product and tool during the training.This tool is in a format that is applicable to the curriculum in the different countries in the region.
There are several dimensions of multiplier effects. The trainer teachers can:
- go on to teach their lesson using the newly acquired skills
- go back and transform their mathematics departments in their schools
- start after class mathematics classes
1. Technical expertise on refining our application that has Training component, and the Monitoring and Evaluation component. It is very important for use to understand that our catchment area has teachers who might not have access to smartphone. There is hence a need for human-centered design and adaptation to suit the local realities.
2. Guidance on the research into the our idea to use Artificial Intelligence to automate identification of mathematics concepts in everyday culture objects.
3. Mentorship and entrepreneurship training - to help us plug the gaps in the teacher training model. We would like to maintain quality of the training and ensure that each 'graduate', deliveres our brand of innovation while teaching. But quality control when working at scale is challenging.
4. Media Exposure would give us more credibility and open doors and listening ears, in the corridors of power. For us to spread faster, we need to win over Local and regional government institutions and sector agencies.
- Solution technology
- Product/service distribution
- Marketing, media, and exposure
We will share the insights and lessons we have learnt from working with rural based teachers to improve mathematics education for primary school girls. We also have a local footprint, and can be of assistance to extend programs in the country.
We seek a partnership that has operated at scale before, in education sector. Such a partner will advise us on how to restructure and position for scale.
We seek a partnership with computing technical knowledge to help us improve our applications suite
MIT Global Innovation Internships, could allocate/send us a student who could assist us in understanding the innovation ecosystem, and support research and development of our applications.
MIT Opening Learning space could connect us to Refugee Action Hub and Playful Journey Lab. These are projects in the education sector and can share lessons on blending learning tools to reach vulnerable groups.
The cornerstone of our innovation is the use of local culture to teach mathematics in vulnerable communities. In refugee communities where there is a lot of lack and need, the Math+Culture program draws on locally available items and examples from the culture of families: this is a low cost and sustainable approach of learning. By using the local culture, we also reinforcing and supporting social and cultural awareness - a welcome aspect by the parents.
The Maths+Culture program is structured to easily be replicated in refugee camps, community schools or makeshift classrooms.
With over 1million refugees, Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa. During our pilot year, 2 of the schools we worked with had children from displaced refugee families. It allowed us to appreciate and adjust our tools address some unique challenges of inclusion that refugees face (such as psychological, literacy hurdles, slow learners).
Children from refugee camps who learn mathematics stand a better chance to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. They are also better equipment to continue on to advanced learning and possibility consider careers in STEM. Such develop learns to greater socio-economic mobility and wellbeing.
This journey started with research into mathematics education and girls, and the desire to encourage girls to take on the subject. One of our founders, carried out extensive research aimed at finding out females’ experiences in
mathematics learning and gaining insight into factors that enhance or inhibit their doing mathematics. These findings have fed into the creation of the Maths+Culture program: a program that is crafted to use domestic items, social practices and experiences that girls are familiar with in class room.
References:
a) Janet Kaahwa - The Experiences of Ugandan Females in Mathematics
Low performance in mathematics can be a barrier to girls’ study of science. Although Uganda’s education system in beginning to emphasise sciences, it is difficult to get girls to apply let alone qualify for science courses. One cannot do sciences unless you have studied mathematics because mathematics is the language of the sciences.
The Maths+Culture program is structure to address the several social, psychological and psycho-biological factors hurdles to girls learning math. The focus is in improving attitude and learning in the classroom by using teaching aids from everyday lifestyles of the girls.
The program is tailored to use objects that girls are familiar with from the domestic settings such as hair braiding or domestic utensils as aids to ease learning of mathematics - and engage the community in teaching. Use of locally available objects overcomes the chronic shortage of learning aids in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. With more understanding and appreciation of mathematics, girls will venture into STEM subjects and careers, thus improving opportunities for better pay, better maternal health and better wellbeing. The program also nurtures entrepreneurial skills, grooming women who can address global challenges creatively
References:
a) Janet Kaahwa - The Experiences of Ugandan Females in Mathematics