Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Sour ce: Impact PR
More needs to be done to address New Zealand’s “dire” international maths achievement results for the country to transition into a high tech economy, according to a leading educationist.
Latest global research shows New Zealand has one of the lowest maths achievement rates across 58 countries and the lowest in the English speaking world.[1]
Ministry of Education findings show graduate teachers are put in front of classes despite needing to “substantially develop” their own maths skills.
Professor Kerry Spackman, a mathematician and neuroscientist whose research and technologies are used to improve the competitive efficiency of Formula 1 drivers, the All Blacks and New Zealand’s Olympians, says the continued deterioration of our maths standards is at a crisis point and has seen us fall behind counties including Lithuania and Albania.
Dr Spackman, who began his career teaching maths and science at Auckland Grammar, says the decline in maths achievement levels has lasted over a decade and is not limited to lower decile schools.
He says New Zealand academic’s approach to maths has become so fragmented that few can agree on the right approach.
“There are a number of different approaches within the education department, with some saying you need to focus on memorisation and other mathematicians saying that’s not the right path, they are all blaming each other and it’s distracting from the whole issue. Across the board and regardless of decile children’s maths ability in New Zealand is on a significant downturn. I believe we have a solution that works and it’s based on solid cognitive neuroscience and research,” he says.
“We are here to collaborate but also put mum and dad in a position where they have some control and they and their children are no longer at the mercy of a failing system.”
“A key element in being able to do maths is confidence and we can see from an early age that some students get the idea that maths is a binary switch and you are either someone who can do it or you aren’t.
“The message this sends can immediately erode a students self-belief and in many cases becomes a permanent self-impression that has a significant impact on their career choice,” he says.
Dr Spackman says around 66,000 students are going to study Year 5 maths this year.
“Maths underpins all of science and without a solid foundation in this subject we can’t realistically expect to be able to develop a high tech economy in the coming years,” he says.
Dr Spackman says NZ will become the first country in the world to receive universally free access to a learning technology designed to help provide a foundation for maths students at a Year 5 or Year 6 level.[2]
Ako Maps, an integrated suite of learning tools for teaching, learning and communicating will be made available to all New Zealand year 5 students. The globally patented software is designed to help the brain make connections between different maths and science concepts.
He says Year 5 is a critical learning year for students as maths learning is cumulative and without a solid understanding of the topic at this level, the subject becomes much harder to progress in.
“Maths principles at this level are closely interrelated and we know if we can build a strong foundation, the student has a much higher likelihood of being able to progress in this subject and other sciences in subsequent years.
“We are offering a solution for the school curriculum free of charge. The government spends 17 billion a year on education with what I believe has some pretty poor outcomes.
“It will mean that all Kiwi students can learn at the same level – mitigating the impact of any other factors which may present barriers to learning such as the decile level of the student,” he says.
Dr Spackman says all Year 5 students can access the Ako Maps learning technology free online now.
He says already a number of high schools in Auckland are accessing the programme including Auckland Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar.
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Written on behalf of Ako Maps by Impact PR. For further information or images, please contact Mark Devlin ph 021509060
Notes to editors
Dr Kerry Spackman is the winner of the Senior Prize Mathematics World Top 50 University, Formula 1 Simulation expert, Ph.D Cognitive Neuroscience, Author of ‘The Winner’s Bible’.
Leading cognitive neuroscientist (Psychophysics) Dr Kerry Spackman has worked for more than 30 years helping high performance athletes, business leaders and other individuals succeed. Winner of the 2010 KEA New Zealand World Class Award and author of best-selling books, The Winner’s Bible and The Ant and the Ferrari, Dr Spackman is well-known for his work with various Formula One race teams, developing aerodynamic modelling, simulation and optimisation training for drivers. Prior to this, he worked alongside Formula One champion Sir Jackie Stewart to develop the vehicle dynamics engineer course for Ford Motor Company. Over the years, Dr Spackman has also worked with many of New Zealand’s high-performance athletes such as The All Blacks and was director of the New Zealand Government’s GoldMine programme developing specialised electronics and mathematical analysis for Olympic athletes.
An Adjunct Professor of Empirical Metaphysics, Dr Spackman began his career as a high school teacher at Auckland Grammar School, and is passionate about helping teachers with the ever-present challenge of how to engage students more effectively to learn better, retain knowledge for longer and achieve higher education outcomes. Over recent years, Dr Spackman and his team at Cognitive Performance Labs have worked to create revolutionary new learning software (Ako Maps) that he believes offers a solution to these challenges for educators here and around the world. Currently being piloted in several Kiwi schools, Dr Spackman is offering the software free to all schools in New Zealand to assist with their COVID-19 recovery.
[1] Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Accessible here.
[2] The Ako Maps programme offers a free NZ Maths Skills Numeracy course for all NZ students at a Year 5 and 6 level.
