Learning Focus

The Art of Being a Mathematician

“Tarsh, this was fun, but what does it have to do with maths?”

This was my favourite question last week, delivered during the grand finale of our Book of Records afternoon. And what a question it was…

At first glance, sorting M&Ms by colour using only chopsticks or threading a pasta necklace in record time might seem to have only a tenuous connection to mathematics. But with a shift in perspective, you'll see that these activities are deeply rooted in mathematics—specifically in developing mathematical dispositions. 

Over the past few years, we at NLPS have been dedicated to cultivating positive mathematical dispositions in our students. On any given week, you'll find our students engaged in a variety of activities designed to enhance their mathematical thinking. They work in randomly assigned mixed groups, collaborate on tasks, justify their reasoning during Number Talks, and discuss solutions to problems. They share strategies, develop efficiency, reason about the validity of their answers, and persevere through challenges, all while supporting each other.

These dispositions are crucial for success in mathematics. And they were clearly demonstrated during the Book of Records challenges. For instance, students engaged in strategic thinking when sharing tactics to add 20 dice together in the shortest time possible. They collaborated, using their communication skills to jump rope the greatest number of times sequentially. Keeping a ball off the ground as a team required perseverance, determination, and a whole lot of cheerleading. Building the tallest freestanding tower out of linking cubes involved justifying their methods to their teammates. Students may not have being ‘doing’ maths in the traditional sense but they were certainly ‘behaving’ like mathematicians.

Despite my love for mathematics and pride in the dispositions shown, the best part of the day wasn’t any of these activities. It was the moment when over 500 students cheered Gemma on as she set the record for sorting the greatest number of M&Ms in 60 seconds. That incredible sense of community is unbeatable.