CBS De Borgh in Borger is participating in the twentieth Great Calculation Day. A day when students from groups 1 to 8 learn that math is more than just making sums. This year the theme is construction and at De Borgh it will be approached a little differently this year. Students of the PABO organize the Calculation Day at the school.
In one class they work on an amusement park and in another class houses are recreated from the time of hunters and gatherers. But one thing is clear; the students are enthusiastic. “They are not sums from a notebook, but we can just tinker,” says 11-year-old Lieke. “With money we can buy materials and then we have to measure whether it all fits.”
Pabo students
Normally, the school organizes the Rekendag itself, but this year they were offered the opportunity to have it organized by first-year Pabo students from NHL Hogeschool Stenden in Emmen. “The theme is determined nationally and we have devised various projects for each class,” says Pabo student Erik Drent. The children have been given fake money with which they have to buy materials. “Children build roads or cities and we have added math to that. For example, the children have to see how much something costs, how big it is and what distance you have to travel.”
Apply more often
In this way, children learn that math occurs in all kinds of situations. “When I see the enthusiasm of the students, we have to think about offering this in a different way. For example, in another math class or a language lesson or in a business subject,” emphasizes director Koen Woltmeijer. And the students agree. “You are now more aware that you are working on it and then you think about it more. They are not just sums from a notebook,” explains 11-year-old Lieke.