Issues

STEM Ambassadors aiming to make maths fun and relevant

W5-logo-teardropJudith Harvey and her education team at W5 have taken on a new challenge.

Unrivalled as a hands-on centre of scientific exploration and learning, W5 is now also the STEMNET contract holder for Northern Ireland and is managing the flagship STEM Ambassadors Programme.  Here she discusses maths – the neglected ‘M’ in ‘STEM’.
To paraphrase Galileo, maths is the language of nature. It describes the world in a similar way as music or literature, but only with numbers and symbols rather than notes or letters. But as a population we appear to seriously struggle with this subject and perceive it as being extremely difficult.

Why is this? Do we actually believe that maths can never be made fun or relevant?  Why would anyone want to engage with maths?  How do we move it from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’?

W5 has been successful in tackling public engagement with science and engineering for over a decade and is now being reinforced by the STEM Ambassadors Programme.  But even W5 can struggle to tackle maths-based events and activities. Within the science education field, many of the ways that the education team use to engage young people with maths are through puzzles and maths masquerading as magic tricks. Although this can demonstrate the joy of numbers, statistics and probability, does it really show the practical, day-to-day applications of maths? 

And more importantly does it really encourage our young people to stick with this subject?

At least it’s a start.  This style of maths engagement has to be used as a hook to show that maths is not just fun but interesting. Maths engagement activities have to make you want to explore and study further.  That is the trick that we need to master within education.

Since taking over the STEM Ambassadors programme for Northern Ireland, W5 has been looking at new and innovative ways to raise the profile and interest in applied maths. 

W5-1STEM Ambassadors are volunteers from business and industry who actively engage with young people at school to provide role models, careers advice and to demonstrate the application of STEM in the real world.  Our Maths Ambassadors are key to providing young people with real life examples of how maths is used every day in all fields of work, from apprenticeships to high-end engineering – and everything in between.

Dr Eimear Barrett, one of W5’s new STEM Ambassadors from the Centre of Excellence for Public Health, advises:  “Unconsciously we encounter risk and probability every day: wherever you go, whatever you do.  We process information and make mathematical calculations in an instant before choosing whether to cross a road, put on a seatbelt, light up a cigarette. Maths is thinking logically, critically, analytically, creatively – about anything.

“Real world maths is critical in the scientific and technological developments taking place, affecting every aspect of what we do.  Maths is the unsung hero of STEM.”

From a business perspective, we must not underestimate the major impact a lack of numeracy skills at every level will have on Northern Ireland’s economic future.  Numeracy and Literacy are at the core of every business; and every business, at some point in time, will have to recruit new staff. Recruiting qualified staff with basic skills can be a minefield.  Are they literate? Numerate? Team players? Good communicators? 

A recent survey conducted in February 2012 by YouGov, on behalf of the charity National Numeracy,  suggests that while four out of five people would be embarrassed to confess to poor literacy skills, just over half would feel the same about admitting poor maths skills.   Only 15 per cent of Britons studied maths after the age of 16, compared with 50-100 per cent in most developed nations.  The impact of this is reinforced by research by KPMG suggesting that annual costs to the UK public purse arising from a failure to master basic numeracy skills amounted to £2.4 billion.

There are a range of concerns in maths education from the frequent “what’s the point?" complaint of both pupils and parents to the perceived difficulty of the subject and an unwillingness to follow repetitive procedures that do serve to embed useful mental tools. 

But what exactly is being done about this?

Through the STEM Ambassadors Programme, W5 wants to get young people thinking about taking maths further. When young people are at school and approaching that time when they are choosing their GCSEs and A-Levels, all they may have seen of maths is in the classroom.  While you have to learn the theory, wouldn’t it be great if you could have a different type of learning experience or school trip and come back with fantastic but more importantly relevant experiences of maths in the real world?
This is what the STEM Ambassadors Programme for Northern Ireland aims to provide.

If we are to develop a buoyant and successful Northern Ireland economy for the future, through STEM, we need to support and develop our Maths education.  If we do not, we will be paying for this, not only in our science, technology and engineering industries, but also in people’s own ability to earn funds and manage their lives.

Currently W5 is working with over 200 Northern Ireland companies who are actively supporting the STEM Ambassadors Programme. 

stemnetIf you would like to get involved and sign up to offer your support for this invaluable initiative, or get your company involved with inspiring young minds to the excitement of a career in STEM, please contact Mary Carson or Judith Harvey on 028 9046 7835/7789 or email stemnet@w5online.co.uk

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