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Carcoola Primary students crunch the numbers at dinner after maths enrichment program

Vanessa SchmittMandurah Coastal Times

CARCOOLA Primary students used a newfound confidence in maths to create a special dinner for parents, staff and visitors.

Students in year 3/4 and year 5/6 classes planned three-course meals using maths to budget their shopping, mix ingredients and rate potential meals.

The events celebrated the students’ and teachers’ achievements in the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program, a year-long maths inquiry program facilitated by Scitech.

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Scitech Maths Multiplier Shyam Drury said the teachers and students came up with a project which not only relied heavily on maths skills, it also created a direct link to their everyday lives.

“In the first half of the year the students dreamed up a theme park using maths to divide the land, create budgets, and maximise profit. Projects based in real life scenarios show students that maths is enjoyable, useful, and most of all it’s more than numbers on a page,” he said.

“Our goal with the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program is to change the perception of maths in the classroom by introducing new ways of teaching, because maths is an essential life skill in a technology driven world.”

The year-long program was implemented at Carcoola, North Dandalup Dwellingup primary schools and Waroona District High School.

It involved teacher learning sessions, classroom drop-ins, and take-home resources for parents to encourage maths engagement at home.

At Carcoola Primary School the program was led by year 3/4 teacher Kelly Cure and year 5/6 teacher Sharon Hunt. Both teachers created classroom learning resources and found new ways to incorporate maths in exciting ways, such as the cooking project.

“Accelerating teachers’ confidence and capacity in the delivery of maths and boosting students’ mathematical abilities is the aim of the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program,” said Alcoa of Australia managing director Michael Parker.

More than 3,000 teachers, students, and parents have taken part in the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program since it began in 2012.