Recreational Math

Thinking is Pleasurable

Math is as much a discipline with a certain amount of content knowledge as it is a way of thinking. The content in math is very less and mostly consists of the vocabulary & conventions which we need to communicate math ideas.

It is a logically structured collection of abstract concepts. Structured because many of the seemingly disparate concepts are connected in surprising ways. Because of this structure, it is also an excellent discipline to develop critical and logical thinking. Over the years, many mathematicians and lovers of math, who dealt with these ideas, were inspired to invent many games, puzzles & patterns. A famous example is the puzzle of the Konigsberg bridges which was solved and developed by Euler into Graph Theory.

Traditional games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Snakes & Ladders are other prominent examples. These were meant primarily for entertainment. Part of the entertainment came from the intellectual pleasure of thinking logically. By playing these games, trying out puzzles & explorations, students can understand many of the concepts & relations in an indirect but easy way.

Recreational Math - An Effective Teaching Tool

So much so that an entire branch of math has developed known as Recreational Mathematics.

In today's technological world, knowledge of math has become an essential requirement. Hence it is taught right from the pre-primary school. But many of the concepts are difficult for students in pre-primary and primary school to understand in a direct way. Because of incorrect pedagogy, math is traditionally perceived as a difficult subject in schools.

Topics from recreational math are excellent ways through which concepts & relations in math can be introduced to students right from the pre-primary school.

But it is a tragedy that ideas from recreational math are not used regularly in the classroom. Since procedures are being "memorized" rather than concepts are "understood", the curriculum itself takes more time to cover. Hence even teachers who want to use these methods, find no time during school time.

Benefits of Recreational Math

Use of recreational math activities will have many benefits for students.

These will stimulate their interest and hence motivation to learn math. They would also provide them a simpler glimpse into a complex concept. They can also help them focus on the joy of discovery and practice many procedures without realizing that they are doing so. It would also expose them to the beautiful patterns and relations in mathematics and hence get a hint of the real nature of math.

Engaging in a mentally stimulating activity, like putting together a jigsaw or solving a word search, can calm your mind and decrease feelings of fear or panic. It can also give a personal experience of "mental focus." It can also provide a "mental break" in the midst of intense study.

Recreational activities can also be used to provide students with "happy drills", a concept which has been dealt in detail in Chapter 11.3, Operational Fluency.

But the field of recreational math is too vast and I am no expert in this field. Hence, we will try in this section, to provide a glimpse of the range of activities available to a teacher, covering number patterns, explorations, games, puzzles & jokes. The internet also has a vast collection of such activities, which can be easily accessed.