We provide non-linear math curriculum for mixed-age kids.
We train local volunteers to facilitate fun informal sessions.
They help kids teach each other at their own pace.
It takes a village...
Rural schools all over the world, including developed nations, used to educate generations in a single classroom, with a single teacher. Kids in lower grades were exposed to higher grades curricula, so when they reached the next level, the material was already familiar and they were more relaxed adopting new concepts than their peers from the same-age classroom schools.
We recognized that mixed-age education can be adapted to bring quality math to children in poor rural communities and refugee camps. We added a major improvement: an informal setting where the teacher is guiding discussions rather than lecturing and children work together on the same problems.
Last Mile Math = One-Room-School Model + Peer-To-Peer Strategies
Small groups of children (5-10) of different age meet informally with one teacher and discuss interesting math problems for an hour or two few times a week, depending on circumstances. The older kids try to explain their ideas in simple terms to the younger ones who keep asking questions till they get it. The problem is then written out and solved, with task division according to skill level. There are no grades.
The goal is not so much to find an exact solution but to investigate the path to it and to explain it to each other until everybody gets it.
Enthusiastic and advanced kids are encouraged to assist the teacher and act as peer ambassadors promoting math in their community.
Each session ends with a math puzzle or an analytical game.
We provide multi-level math problems
Last Mile Math provides math problems that are carefully crafted to provide work for several skill levels. They cut across grade levels instead of following linear grade-specific curriculum. They come with solution guidelines for the teacher, pointing out concepts that should be emphasized for each skill level present in class.
These math problems are the essence of our program. It takes a lot of expertise to design each exercise, but very little to deliver them to the kids, if trained for the task. We provide all the necessary training to volunteer teachers and they provide good will and patience for working with kids.
And if long-term teachers are available at the location, we also provide training for design of mixed-age math problems. We are committed to local capacity building for sustainable math education, wherever there is need regardless of resources.
These math problems are the essence of our program. It takes a lot of expertise to design each exercise, but very little to deliver them to the kids, if trained for the task. We provide all the necessary training to volunteer teachers and they provide good will and patience for working with kids.
And if long-term teachers are available at the location, we also provide training for design of mixed-age math problems. We are committed to local capacity building for sustainable math education, wherever there is need regardless of resources.
Math does not need to wait for the arrival of funds, schools or technology!