How the New National Curriculum Framework Is Designed To Address Math Phobia

The NCF, which is being developed in accordance with the new National Education Policy (NEP), also mentions two key factors that contribute to mathematics-related anxiety: the nature of the subject, how it is taught, and how it is viewed in society.How the New National Curriculum Framework Is Designed To Address Math Phobia

Four revisions of the NCF have been made: in 1975, 1988, 2000, and 2005.

In New Delhi: The draught National Curriculum Framework recommends integrating mathematics with the arts, sports, and language to give students a more creative and aesthetic experience in the subject, which has historically been more “robotic” and “algorithmic.” (NCF).

The draught also emphasises the need for action to combat students’ maths phobia and dispel widely held social stereotypes that girls are bad at maths and that upper caste people are better at computation.

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The NCF, which is being developed in accordance with the new National Education Policy (NEP), also mentions two key factors that contribute to mathematics-related anxiety: the nature of the subject, how it is taught, and how it is viewed in society.

Officials from the ministry of education claim that the draft, which is in its final stages, will soon be made available to the public for comments from stakeholders before the new system is put into place starting with the 2024–25 academic year. 2005 saw the last update to the NCF.

“Prevalent social attitudes regard girls as incapable of mathematics, and formal computational abilities are associated with the upper castes.” Students experience fear and anxiety as a result of such social discrimination. “We need to break down these societal beliefs,” it says.

“We need to rethink our teaching approach so that students see mathematics as a part of their lives and enjoy maths with a greater emphasis on reasoning and creative problem solving.” At the same time, we must collaborate with society to understand the goals of education and some of the beliefs that harm students’ learning,” it adds.

According to the draught prepared by the national steering committee, which is led by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, an interdisciplinary approach allows students to broaden their horizons beyond one subject domain by allowing them to tackle problems that do not fit neatly into one subject. It also alters how students learn by asking them to synthesise multiple perspectives rather than driving their thoughts unidirectionally based on a single discipline’s understanding.

The panel has suggested using rangoli patterns, origami, weaving, embroidery, and recognising geometry in the architecture of monuments, among other ideas, noting that arts and mathematics are linked through a number of concepts.

“Most students, particularly those who really struggle to understand the concepts in maths, might find it enjoyable to learn mathematics through sports. Through sports, measurement and mensuration concepts could be taught simply, and related unit conversions could be discussed at the same time, according to the draught.

Reforms to the subject’s assessment have also been proposed by the panel.

It states that tasks for problem-solving, multiple-choice questions (MCQs), data handling and analysis, investigative projects, maths lab activities, models, research projects, peer assessment, and presentations that include the use of ICT may aid in formative assessment in mathematics.

Four revisions of the NCF have been made: in 1975, 1988, 2000, and 2005. The newly suggested revision will be the framework’s fifth.