I bet you did not realise that mathematics is all around us and used in everything we do. Yes, me neither, but it is true, mathematics is everywhere. Throughout the module ‘Discovering Mathematics’, this is the main thing that I have learned. Before starting this module, I had an idea of mathematics, but not to the extent I do now. For example, yes, mathematics is numbers. Numbers that you add together, you multiply and you subtract; all the things you get taught at school. However, never did I realise that mathematics was involved in sport, food, driving a car, cooking, singing, dancing, shopping; the list goes on and on.

Now that I know this, it seems obvious. Of course mathematics is involved in sport, for example, football. (Mahaney, 2011) helped me realise that football is played on a pitch that is measured in meters, it is a rectangle shape and it has two halves, the game involves two teams made up of eleven players each, and there is one referee. This list can also go on forever. Moreover, (Mahaney, 2011) expresses how the goalkeeper in football is 1 player out of 11 players in the team and 22 players on the pitch. What do we call this in mathematical language? Correct, ratio is the answer. Ratio can develop in football in many ways. One example is, if one player from ‘team A’ gets sent off from the referee, the ratio is 11:10 for team ‘B’.

For me, myself, being interested in football, I believe if my teacher at school explained ratio to me using football terms, I would have maybe understood ratio quicker. I may not have taken days, weeks and maybe even months to understand ratio fully before my final exam. In my opinion, when an individual is being taught a certain subject, they pay more attention if they are enjoying it, or they can relate to it. Therefore, this can help them learn this subject area quicker. (Liping, 2010) quotes “teachers must understand that elementary math consists of basic ideas. These basic ideas that recur through math learning create a solid foundation on which to build future math learning”. I would argue that if we started off with more basic mathematics, using simplistic examples on something we are interested in, we would be able to solve more in depth mathematic skills.

Liping (2010) Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics: Teachers’ understanding of fundamental mathematics in china and the United States. New York: Routledge.

Mahaney, I. F. (2011) The math of soccer. 1st edn. New York: PowerKidsPress.