Unlock Math Mastery: Teach with Coding

Math is frequently viewed as one of the least favored subjects in school. It can be daunting for students, who may find it boring, confusing, or even intimidating. Teachers often struggle with it too, as many consider it one of the most challenging subjects to teach.

In this post, we’re going to explore how coding can make math more accessible and engaging. We’ll start by discussing how coding can demystify numbers and help students visualize abstract concepts more clearly. Then, we’ll provide specific examples of how coding activities can enhance learning in areas such as geometry, arithmetic, and graphing.

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First, let’s explore how coding can address common mathematical challenges, such as a lack of confidence with numbers and difficulties in visualizing mathematical operations. If you’re eager to dive into specific activities, you can skip ahead by scrolling down the page.

Patience and problem-solving

Math fundamentally revolves around problem-solving, which involves finding solutions to number-based challenges. Coincidentally, coding shares this core focus on problem-solving.

Every coder experiences moments where, despite their efforts, the code doesn’t run as expected. This initiates a process known as debugging, where the coder must painstakingly identify and solve the issue. Debugging is excellent practice for developing problem-solving skills in children.

Through repeated debugging, children learn the value of remaining calm, patient, and methodical. Reacting with frustration or anger is counterproductive and only complicates the problem-solving process.

This approach is directly applicable to mathematics. When faced with a challenging problem, the worst thing a student can do is react negatively, like ripping up their work or expressing their frustration physically. Instead, they should take a moment to breathe and tackle the problem with the same calm, step-by-step approach used in coding.

In essence, coding not only enhances mathematical skills but also teaches broader life skills like patience, which are invaluable across all subjects and everyday situations. Coding, therefore, is an excellent tool for fostering these essential attributes.

Bringing numbers to life

Coding can make abstract numerical concepts more tangible and visual for children. For instance, imagine coding a purple cat to walk across a screen. Starting with 10 steps, a child can easily adjust this to 20 steps, visually observing that the cat has walked twice the initial distance because 10 x 2 = 20.

This might seem simple, but for many children, seeing numbers represented visually can be incredibly helpful. Abstract numbers can be intimidating, but visual representations like the purple cat are more concrete and relatable.

Traditionally, to help students visualize numbers, teachers might use physical objects like bricks or beads. A child could count 10 beads, add another 10, and see the total grow to 20. This method works well with small numbers, but becomes impractical with larger sums—counting 100 beads and then doubling them to 200 is time-consuming.

However, with coding, a child can make the purple cat take 200 steps with just a few clicks. As they grow more skilled, they can add more complex instructions. For example, they might program the cat to jump every 20 steps. By counting the jumps, children can see that the cat jumped 10 times over 200 steps, illustrating that 200 ÷ 20 equals 10—bringing an abstract division problem to life.

This concept can be expanded further. Suppose the cat is programmed to walk 248 steps and jump every 7 steps. Before running the code, the child can perform some long division on paper to predict the number of jumps. Predicting 35 jumps with 3 steps left, they can then run the code to confirm their calculations, blending coding with traditional math practice in an engaging way.

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Making math less scary

Many children find math daunting. The mere sight of numbers can cause anxiety, driven by the fear of making mistakes or appearing foolish in front of peers. These feelings can make math lessons a source of dread. However, coding offers a friendly and non-intimidating environment that can help alleviate these fears.

Take the earlier example of the purple cat, which was about practicing mathematical operations. But coding doesn’t always have to be explicitly about math. For instance, a child could create a video game where the player controls a dancing bear trying to jump through as many golden hoops as possible.

While programming the bear, the child will inadvertently engage with numbers. Questions like “How high can the bear jump?” and “At what angle?” involve basic geometry. They might also consider “What’s the highest possible score?” and “Can anyone beat it?” which involves organizing numbers.

This casual interaction with numbers can lead to an epiphany: numbers aren’t as intimidating as they seemed. If children can manage numbers within a coding project, they’ll start to feel more confident about handling them in math class too. Their stress and fear regarding numbers begin to diminish as they realize that numbers are manageable within the engaging context of coding.

In coding projects, numbers are inevitable, whether plotting a character’s movement or tracking game scores. As children encounter numbers more frequently in such contexts, their comfort with and confidence in handling numbers will naturally increase.

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Specific activities

Thus far, we’ve discussed how coding can boost patience and methodical thinking, aid in visualizing mathematical concepts, and make numbers less intimidating for children. Now, let’s dive into some concrete examples of how coding can be used to teach specific mathematical principles.

Geometry

Returning to our example with the purple cat, this character can serve as an excellent tool for introducing geometry to children. For instance, you might have them program the cat to move five steps forward, turn 90 degrees, and then take another two steps. This simple exercise not only covers basic geometry but also incorporates addition. What’s the total number of steps the cat will take? This type of visual learning is engaging; students can see the cat move across the screen as they run the code.

Next, challenge the students to alter the parameters: increase the angle to 180 degrees and add three more steps. What happens? Ideally, the cat should return to its starting point.

To increase the difficulty, encourage them to program the cat to walk in a perfect square: move five steps, turn 90 degrees, and repeat until completing the square.

Why stop there? Experiment with other shapes like triangles or hexagons. While these could certainly be drawn on paper with a pencil and protractor, coding them brings a dynamic and fun element to learning. It makes the process more engaging and memorable.

For a ready-made example, here’s a good place to start. The cat in this scenario is orange, not purple, but the activity remains an excellent way to understand geometry through coding.

Arithmetic

Arithmetic
Mastering times tables can often be monotonous and challenging, but coding offers a way to revitalize arithmetic learning. Rather than simply reciting answers, children can develop an interactive game that quizzes them on their arithmetic skills. For example, the game might prompt with, “What is 5 x 10?” and the player must type the correct answer.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation offers an excellent template for this type of game, where a red monkey, instead of a purple cat, poses the questions. Players are given 30 seconds to answer as many questions as possible, with a timer adding an extra layer of challenge and competitiveness.

This gamified approach doesn’t just make math practice more engaging; it drives kids to outdo their previous scores or even surpass their friends’ high scores. Suddenly, math doesn’t feel like a chore—it’s a competitive game where they can continuously improve their skills.

The versatility of this method extends beyond multiplication. The game can be programmed to test addition, subtraction, and division. For older students, it could even include algebra or trigonometry questions. Just like coding to visualize geometric shapes, using code to practice arithmetic opens up nearly limitless possibilities for engaging and effective learning.

Graphing

Using coding to teach math is also effective when it comes to graphing, which is supported by another Raspberry Pi template. Graphing involves collecting and analyzing data, such as surveying how many people in a class like pizza and determining the most popular toppings.

After gathering this data, there are several ways a child can represent it. They could manually draw a pie chart or use spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. However, a more engaging approach might be to program the graphs themselves. This involves more advanced coding and may require using a text-based language like Python, but it’s a fantastic method for integrating mathematics with coding.

Creating a pie chart through code, rather than using Excel, can be incredibly satisfying. This process not only reinforces coding skills but also deepens understanding of mathematical concepts. It’s a prime example of how coding and mathematics complement each other effectively.

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Final Thoughts

This post has explored various ways coding can be used to enhance mathematics education. The key takeaway is that coding can transform math into something fun and visual, incorporating game mechanics and creative elements like purple cats to revolutionize how students experience the subject.

There are countless activities out there to try, and a simple Google search will reveal many excellent resources. While some students might already enjoy math and not need additional resources, for others, these coding activities could be transformative. Instead of developing a fear of math, they could grow to approach it with calm, confidence, and perhaps even find joy in it.

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