UWI Math Fair uses game-based learning, tours to spark students’ interest in math and show them career opportunities
“Over 3,400 students and 300 teachers from 70 secondary schools plus 200 volunteers and staff from the Faculty of Science and Technology were a successful formula for the seventh year of The UWI Math Fair.
The event featured booths, activities, talks and tours all for the purpose of bringing math to life in and increasing awareness of math-related careers for secondary and tertiary students and teachers.
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“Math Fair is a booster for awareness of mathematics in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics (DMS) Dr Sreedhara Rao Gunakala, “to develop analytical and critical skills by using different computations, games, etc.”
Dr Akhenaton Daaga, Instructor in Mathematics at the DMS and event organiser, said the fair helps students see mathematics from a different perspective through edutainment. Game based learning —where participants engage in an activity to reach an end goal — is central to the fair.
An example of this were the logic mazes erected on the LRC Greens. To solve the mazes, he explained, students could only make moves based on rules. The students also participated in an exercise which taught them a theory known as “the Four Colour Theorem”, a math problem proven in the late 1970s. Volunteers developed an activity where students had to colour in countries on a map with a minimum of colours. The final answer involved using four colours.
The exercise, Dr Daaga said, represented a complex idea in a fun way: “It’s definitely something that they might not even encounter until they reach university, but it’s understandable to secondary school students if you do it the right way.”
Dr Alana Sankar, another Instructor in Mathematics and Math Fair organiser, said game-based learning was a “hands-on way which could spark students’ interest, and really shift the mindset from math as a boring or hard subject, to something that is exciting and useful”.
Javid Sarafat, Head of the Math Department at St Mary’s College, who attended the fair with his students, praised the efforts to show pupils how the subject “actually connects in a beautiful way to a real world”.
He said, “It’s a full reinforcement of what I have been dealing with and trying to get into my students all the years I’ve been teaching.”
Mr Sarafat points out the huge culture of gaming among boys, and the importance of embracing this trend in teaching. “I use things like quizzes and Kahoot. It’s 2025. This are a different generation, and they know technology. They respond visually.”
Before the fair, students and teachers were encouraged to participate in competitions that interweave math with creativity. Some of the winners include Elina Rampersad, who took first place in the junior group of the Art and Craft Design category, while Rena Summer Thomas and Anastasia Ramdass came first in the intermediate and advanced groups.
Under oral expression, Rose Cumberbatch and Makeda Escayg both came first in the junior group, while Krisann Bedassie and Ashvini Ramroop placed first in intermediate and advanced. Elina Rampersad was also first in the junior group for the poster competition; Renée Mohammed and Tia Ramnarine won the intermediate group; and Celicia Arneaud, Amilia Ali and Adrianna Mitchell won in the advanced group. The team of Omari Bernard, Amara Ramkissoon and Shazira Ally came first in the Math Feud. Fawwaaz Khan won the Teacher’s Game Design category.
Dr Sankar stated, “A fundamental skill in math is logical thinking. The skill of being able to think logically and critically, and to analyse problems is something that math teaches and is useful in a wide variety of jobs.”
In fact, many alumni of the department are “swept up” very quickly, says Dr Daaga. Insurance and finance companies in particular are interested in these graduates. “It’s almost as if you have an accelerated path into these organisations.”
The organisers said that sometimes students do not realise how important mathematics is in technology, including AI. For example, said Dr Sankar it is vital in cybersecurity and quantitative analysis. First time Math Fair sponsor the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC Caribbean) illustrated this by giving students access to their AI, Tiffany, a financial literacy tool. Fascinated students were able to ask Tiffany questions and get answers in real time. An alumnus of the DMS helped develop Tiffany at CIBC.
Participants were also able to visit booths featuring the fair’s second major sponsor, UNIPET, as well as student societies. They joined campus tours and heard soap box talks where scholars discussed their latest research.
The organisers are already looking ahead to the next Math Fair. Dr Sankar hopes to one day expand it to include primary schools. During one of her outreaches, they created games for the children:
“Seeing the excitement of all of these little kids as they try to line up and attempt all of these exercises... It was something that really touched my heart and got me interested in sparking this math passion from the primary school level.”
“This is forever a supplement for the primary and secondary school people, so it is a continuous outreach activity,” said Dr Gunakala.
Dr Daaga hopes that some of the fair’s most successful elements could reappear. He wants to also build anticipation among potential participants. “We’re going to really try to shock them and come with a whole new aspect of it every year.”
