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Location: Humanes de Madrid, Spain / Number of students: 720
Grades using Innovamat: From PreK 1 to 8th grade/ Using Innovamat since: 2021
Mathematics education is the study of how to teach and learn mathematics effectively and meaningfully. It helps us to present mathematical concepts in such a way that students can develop skills and competencies in mathematics.
Recently, we visited the Dehesa de Humanes school, where Innovamat is used in the mathematics classroom from kindergarten to middle school, to talk to several of its teachers and managing staff about how the Innovamat approach is helping to make students more competent.
Another effective way to teach mathematics is to make use of manipulatives. According to Jorge Martín, an elementary school teacher, the use of materials such as the beaded-necklace “have created a very good basis for moving on to the abstract number line, that is, from manipulatives to images. Then from the number line to abstraction directly”. This helps students better understand mathematical concepts concretely before moving on to abstraction.
The students at Dehesa de Humanes have experienced a great change in their attitude towards mathematics since they have been learning with Innovamat. Before, they only saw math as addition and subtraction, but now they have discovered that it can be fun and an opportunity for group work and creative problem solving.
“Jorge [teacher] explained to us that we can work as a group, so it’s like a problem, but fun,” says Rodrigo, a 2nd grade student.
Teachers have also noticed a difference in the way students focus and question in all classes.
“Last year I taught first and second grade, and I noticed a very big difference, not only in calculation skills, but also in the way of thinking, in students’ reflections on the subject matter” explained Jorge Martín, an elementary school teacher.
Innovamat encourages critical thinking and the ability to compare and explain solutions to problems. “Innovamat forces you to think,” said Nerea, a student in 7th grade. The students have improved in their ability to solve problems in multiple ways, using “different strategies, whether it is a number line, a decomposition tower, manipulatives, painting or, even directly using traditional algorithms” Jorge told us.
This has led to greater satisfaction in the classroom, as students feel that they are making the same progress as the rest of the class, even if they are not working in exactly the same way, with the same strategy. Which is something that did not happen using the ‘traditional method’.
Innovamat has also helped the school to provide more differentiated instruction, as Carolina García, head of studies of kindergarten and elementary, tells us. “It hugely complements one of the cornerstones of our school, individualized attention to the student. You can cater to students with special educational needs. That gives us a lot of peace of mind.”
It has also improved students’ preparation for the High School Diploma, as it requires a higher level of mathematical thinking and the ability to make conjectures and demonstrations. “The High School Diploma tests require a much, much higher level of mathematics. The students have to think like a mathematician, make conjectures, do demonstrations…”, Sergio Martín, a middle school teacher, told us.
Students and teachers also enjoy the digital math practice. “It’s so like a game that, in the end, you almost don’t even realize you’re doing math, ‘You have to find a sum with this result using the four numbers we give you.’ Well, I think it’s even more fun because I like to find the solution,” said Eva, a student in 7th grade.
But digital practice not only makes mathematics fun, but it also allows teachers to provide differentiated instruction, as it adapts to the needs of each student. As Jorge told us, “we do one 45-minute session a week and the students work with the app. If I thought about doing 45 minutes of text book work they wouldn’t want to do it. Not only that, but because it is self-adaptive, the application helps them.
Teachers and students agree that there is a greater understanding and acceptance of mathematicsin students using Innovamat.
According to Carolina, “[Mathematics] has gone from being rejected to both students and teachers being eager to teach it and to be taught it.”
Innovamat has not only helped our elementary students, the story continues in middle school. Sergio Martín and Óscar Abellón, middle school teachers, tell us about their experience with Innovamat. They emphasize that students have not only managed to understand complex concepts, but they have been able to work out knowledge that was abstract for many students.
Óscar emphasizes that in his classes he does not explain anything, he rather guides knowledge using the curriculum and the questions students ask. He adds: “It is easier to work with because the student understand how, through reflection and reasoning, they can reach the solution of something that is apparently very complex.”
The key to successful learning, according to Sergio, is that students can use manipulatives with different resources. Understanding negative numbers, for example, is a difficult concept for many students, but working with positive and negative number counters makes the negative number concept an entity that they can touch and manipulate. “Then everything makes sense. It works and it helps them,” he says.
Moreover, the introduction of a question-based thinking routine — I see, I think, I question — has enabled them to come up with solutions themselves. Students have been able to go much further and gain a much deeper understanding of learning. Óscar is surprised that they have been able to acquire knowledge that for him was abstract: “They have worked ahead. I even told them: “We’ve skipped two classes with this.” And it has also been widespread; that is, all students have been able to work out that knowledge.”
The combination of manipulative counters, thought routines and open-ended questions has allowed the students to understand complex concepts in a simple and effective way.
Óscar states: “I’m sure they understood today because I didn’t explain it to them, they explained it to me.”
Sergio Martín has noticed a big difference in the level of understanding of students who have learned mathematics with Innovamat compared to those who have not tried it. “I’m looking at the level of understanding of students in 7th grade who have already used Innovamat in elementary school, and students who have gone into 7th grade without having tried Innovamat, and there is a huge difference.”
