The Role of Creativity in Math: An Approach to Math Problem-Solving
In the quest for excellence in education, the significance of creativity in mathematics cannot be overstate...
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Last Updated on August 31, 2021 by Thinkster
We all know that Andy Murray is an extremely skilled tennis player with numerous achievements – such as a three-time Grand Slam winner, two-time Olympic champion, and the Association of Tennis Professionals number 1 ranked male player for 41 weeks in 2016 and 2017.
So, why are we, at Thinkster Math, concerned about this? Apart from the fact that you cannot play tennis if you cannot keep score in 15, 30 and 40 intervals (whoever came up with that scoring?), at first blush, you would think that there is really no connection between Andy Murray and Thinkster Math. Would you?
Actually, there is.
Andy Murray is and was a talented tennis player since 2006. There was nothing wrong with him, except for the fact that he was constantly in the limelight for not having won a grand slam event – until 2012 that is. Before that, it was always – “can Andy Murray ever win a grand slam?” After winning the U.S. Open in 2012, it was – “Oh – that probably was a one-time event….but can he win the one that counts – Wimbledon – in his home country?”
We did not think so. Ivan Lendl did not think so. Andy Murray definitely did not think so. That’s why he hired Ivan Lendl to begin with. Not because he did not know how to play tennis, but because he wanted someone to coach him by observing him play. To find out something about himself that he can have Lendl point out. So that he can get better.
Learning is about getting better. Getting better at tennis, math, piano, talking, acting…and I can go on and on. It does not matter what it is that you are learning, but to get better, you have to understand two things. One is that you are aware that you need to get better. Second is that someone else is also aware that you need to get better. They can be your teacher because they have been there and done that and have a baseline to refer your performance against. This baseline is typically about measurement and data, and its all about learning! Learning about what you do well, what you struggle with, what you need to improve upon. Did you notice that it was all about you?
At Thinkster, we always talk about Point of Learning. We obsess over it. We spend all of our waking time thinking about what else we can do with it. Our teachers are constantly looking for insights that come from analyzing data. This data is actually given by the Active Replay Technology (ART) tool within Thinkster Math. We baseline and then we observe. We know that observation is the key to coaching. Without this, we can make grand statements like what Monday morning quarterbacks do – all the time! Unfortunately, it does not move the needle. What delivers results are actionable insights that come from the hard work of observing student behavior at the Point of Learning. Andy Murray was Ivan Lendl’s student – for quite a while – before we began to see results. Results that all of Britain had been wanting for 77 years!
Now that is a connection that you can never dispute. Learning and teaching have always been personalized!
Thinkster, Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl have always had Personalized Learning in common.
If you want to sign up for the same personalized learning experience that Andy Murray got from Ivan Lendl, except that you want your child to become a genius in Math, click below to sign up for a free one-week trial.
You will know the difference personalized math coaching makes when you experience it.
