parent and child maths masterclass: part 1 - johannesburg (mathematical thinking for problem solving...

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28 May 2016This document is solely for the use of MathsGenius Leadership Institute personnel and Advisory Board. No part of it may be circulated, quoted, or reproduced for distribution without prior written approval from MathsGenius Leadership Institute..

Mathematical Thinking for Problem Solving Success in a Network Society

Gaussian Mind Trading and Projects

T/A MathsGenius Leadership Institute

Phone: +2778 585 8937

Title: Chief Genius

Website: www.mathsgenius.co.zaEmail: [email protected]

Presenter: Edzai Conilias Zvobwo

MathsGenius Leadership Institute

Twitter: @edzaizvobwo

MathsGenius Leadership Institute 2016 ©

Educational reform for the social media agehttp://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/371/129436.html

Platform thinking is not a pipe dream; what SA can learn from Googlehttp://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/659/124914.html

Throwing laptops at schools won't solve the maths problemhttp://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/659/124682.html

Google Helpouts shuts down: Are live video tutorials viable?http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/659/124518.html

Maths not SA's innovation holy grailhttp://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/498/124206.html

Media articles by Edzai Zvobwo

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/371/129436.html



MathsGenius Leadership Institute 2016©

Hi, My name is Homo NalediI am the coolest guy of my era. I am a genius I discovered fire

Hi , my name is EdzaiI am the coolest guy of my era.I am keeping the fire burning.

“We started from the bottom now we are here…” – Drake (Musician)

Evolution


Maslow’s hierarchy of needs


Industrial Age


Dude, Google is overworking us I am jumping ship to Uber

Digital Age


World’s biggest brands 2015

• Platform thinking is the art of conceptualising and implementing inclusive places (physical or virtual) where different actors can interact, communicate, co-create and share value.

• A successful platform is able to1. Attract users2. Facilitate the exchange of information3. Foster co-creation of value

Andrea Cocchi

What is Platform Thinking?

• Value is created upstream• Knowledge is acquired from

teacher• Lessons are designed to

meet specifications• Value is given by restricted

consumption

PIPES PLATFORMS• Value is co-created on the

spot• Learners are co-creators of

knowledge• Products emerge through

interaction• Value is appreciated by

interaction

Pipes vs Platforms

Benefits


• Interoperability• Scalability • Measurability• Greater autonomy and innovation• Confidence boosting• Collaborative participation

The internet has revolutionised the way we interact and has turned the world into one big virtual village.

Possible Challenges


• Adoption by all stakeholders• Establishing spectrum of control• Curriculum responsive ICT systems

design• Cyber Bullying• Exposure to pornography• Too many distractions

Enabling innovation culture• “Teachers might consider a managed process of

idea generation that rewards risk taking and effectively harvests entrepreneurial and mathematical ideas.” (Accenture 2013)

• Today, there’s a glut of highly creative but underserved learners. Let’s harness their idealistic passion before they turn grey, using social networks and data sharing to create an open, interactive, dynamic model of mathematics education. (Ethan Perlstein)

• It's always a tremendous opportunity for us to tap into our learner’s passion, creativity and their own interpretation of mathematics (Ben & Jerry's – Do the Flavor a Favor competition)

What is mathematical thinking?


Are you an architect if you:

•Dig trenches•Pour concrete•Bricklaying•Carpentry•Do Plumbing•Do electrical wiring•Roofing



“Mathematical thinking is the equivalent of architecting. You need all of those individual

house-building skills to build a house. But putting those skills together and making use

of them requires a higher-order form of thinking. You need someone who can design the building and oversee its construction.” –

Keith Devlin



Mathematical thinking is a whole way of looking at things, of stripping them down to

their numerical, structural, or logical essentials, and of analysing the underlying patterns. Moreover, it involves adopting the

identity of a mathematical thinker.

How does a mathematician think?

Why mathematical thinking?


1.Prepares you for optimal complex problem solving and decision making (e.g. knowledge of key ratios and other magic numbers) 2.Builds resilience and confidence.3.Promotes resourcefulness(effectual thinking vs. causal thinking)4.Helps you become more creative and critical.


Thinking like a mathematician - Steps

1.Identify the correct problem to solve.2.Understand the problem.3.Devise a plan.4.Carry out the plan.5.Evaluate.

In 1994, Saunders Mac Lane, offered intuition, trial, error, speculation, conjecture, proof as the sequence in which we come to understand and develop mathematics.

Why school maths sucked


• A series of rigid rules and methods.• No meaning in everyday life• Timed exams• No room for risk-taking and faith.• Failure/wrong answer frowned upon• Too much emphasis on neatness.• Too abstract.• Many teachers don’t appreciate the

subject

What can be improved?


• Emphasis on brain platform development.• Mathematical modelling and application.• Room for creativity, open-mindedness and

versatility.• Design and art thinking + faith• Embracing of failure as critical to learning• Efficiency in problem solving• Frameworks for achieving first principles• Appreciation of maths as a language

What can be improved?


• Role playing e.g. Hackathon• Root-cause analysis (Appreciation of

cause and effect)• Presentation of problem solving as a

continuous process• Framework driven success.• Redefinition of genius• Change in mathematical blueprint

Effectual thinking is a heuristic way of reasoning that requires imagination and risk-taking. And it this heuristic attribute of the entrepreneurial reasoning that makes mathematical training advantageous to any aspiring entrepreneur.


www.mathsgenius.co.za


“Maths is to the mind, what love is to the heart” – Edzai Conilias Zvobwo

Bibliography

“Accenture Management Consulting (2013) “Corporate Innovation Is Within Reach: Nurturing and Enabling an Entrepreneurial Culture”, downloadable from Accenture website

Andrea Cocchi (2012) “Platform Thinking - How to foster cooperative innovation and creativity”, New York, USA

Bianchi M. (ed (2007) “Evolution of Consumption: Theories and Practices”, Bingley, U.K. : EmeraldBianchi M. (ed.) (1998) “The Active Consumer Novelty and Surprise in Consumer Choice”, London:

RoutledgeChoudary (2013) “Why Business Models Fail: Pipes vs. Platforms” Wired

http://www.wired.com/insights/2013/10/why-business-models-fail-pipes-vs-platforms/Bonchek and Choudary (2013) “Three elements of a Successful Platform Strategy”, HBR blog

(blogs.hbr.org/2013/01/three-elements-of-a-successful-platform/CachedShare)Evans, Hagiu, Schmalensee (2006) “Invisible Engines How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and

Transform Industries” The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, EnglandDayport, Sviokla (1995) “Exploiting the Virtual Value Chain” Harvard Business Review 1995 (november-

december), pp. 75-85Shapiro and Varian (1999) “The Standard War”, California Manegement Review , Vol. 41. No 2Edzai Zvobwo (2010), The Mathematical Genius in You, Pretoria, South AfricaEdzai Zvobwo (2014), Spreading Mathematical Happiness, Johannesburg, South AfricaKeith Devlin (2011), Mathematical Thinking, USA