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The conventional belief has always been that kids interested in coding should develop strong math skills. However, it turns out the reverse may also be true: coding can help children build math skills and make learning math more engaging and fun.

In the three years that Casita Center, a magnet elementary school in Southern California, has been teaching coding with Tynker, they've seen considerable improvements in their students' math scores, outperforming virtually all California schools with similar demographics. Jenny Anderson, the school's STEM specialist, believes this improvement is due to the effectiveness of their CS program. When kids learn to code, they develop key skills like problem solving and practice algorithmic and computational thinking - and when they learn to code with Tynker, they have fun at the same time, so they're more likely to stay engaged with the material. These broad skill sets and ways of breaking down and analyzing problems translate across the curriculum and are particularly helpful when it comes to math.

Whether kids are learning to code at school or at home, you may just see an impact on their overall academic performance! Here are a few ways that coding helps kids learn math:

Coding helps kids visualize abstract concepts

Grasping abstract math concepts can be a challenge to many kids and put them off the subject entirely. Parents, teachers, and technology specialists are using Tynker to help children visualize abstract math concepts.

"One of the most common cross curricular benefits of computer programming is that the kids have an easier time learning math skills," says Michelle Lagos, a computer science teacher who uses Tynker in elementary classes at the American School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. "When they have to work on long division, it is easier for them to visualize the numbers now instead of counting with their fingers. They visualize the equation and think of the best way to solve it." Lagos reports that she has "seen kids in many grades improve their math skills" by using Tynker to learn coding.

Jesse Thorstad, Technology Coordinator for the Fergus Falls Public Schools district in Minnesota, has had a similar experience. "Tynker provides kids with a concrete example of the power of decimal places," he says. "When studying decimals in math, the students experience a heartwarming 'Ah-ha!' moment when they see how moving a decimal block of code can affect the objects on the screen tenfold."

Kids explore the real-world applications of math concepts

Repairing spaceships or saving puppies with Tynker is a great way for a child to see concrete applications of math strategies. Tynker parent Sri Ramakrishnan points out that kids develop stronger math skills when applying concepts in a real-world context: "The computational thinking involved in computer programming involves logic, organizing and analyzing data, and breaking a problem into smaller and more manageable parts. Much of this is also required when solving math problems!"

Math can be used in creative coding projects

Kids who use Tynker see how math is inherently creative. Here is an example of math art that kids can create with Tynker:

10-year-old Jacob Myers, a big math buff who regularly competes in math contests, uses Tynker to make math art with spirals and triangles. Kids can also complete activities like Pattern Maker and Spin Draw to learn how to create art with coding and math!

Coding teaches problem-solving skills

Coding is a real-world way to teach mathematical thinking. When students create or debug a program, they practice solving problems. Math teachers find that Tynker's beginning lessons are a great way to teach pattern identification as well. Teachers can assign activities like Multiplication Escape or Analog Clock and encourage students to find solutions with math.

Coding makes math more fun

"My kids ask to program with Tynker because they enjoy it," says Jennifer Apy, the parent of a 15-year-old, an 11-year-old, and an 8-year-old. "Without realizing it, my kids are identifying attributes and grouping variables, applying conditional logic, developing algorithmic functions, and calculating angles within geometric shapes. But most of all, they are patiently articulating hypotheses to solve problems, and boldly applying trial-and-error experimentation, strategies required by any field of study. And this is in addition to some of the coding that requires real math - to correctly calculate wait times, set score counters, calculate points, and time interactions between characters in their games."

"If kids realize they are using math when programming Tynker games," Apy says, "it could actually build their confidence with math and show them that mathematical thinking can be cool."

Math is cool? What could be better than that?

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The conventional belief has always been that kids interested in coding should develop strong math skills. However, it turns out the reverse may also be true: coding can help children build math skills and make learning math more engaging and fun.

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The fact is:
We all use math in everyday applications whether we're aware of it or not. If you look hard enough, you'll see math emerge from some of the most unlikely places.

Mathematics is the universal language of our environment, helping mankind explain and create.

From playing games to playing music, math is vital to helping students fine tune their creativity and turn their dreams into reality.

When am I ever going to use math?

Variations of this question have echoed through the halls of math classrooms everywhere. Students often wonder if, when, and how they will ever use math in "real life" situations.

The truth is that we use math all the time!

Sure, unless you're an engineer or an actuary, you may not use some of the more abstract mathematical concepts.

However, the underlying skills developed in math classrooms resonate throughout a student's lifetime and often resurface to help solve various real-world or work-related problems--sometimes years down the line.

1. Math Helps You Build Things

Ask any contractor or construction worker--they'll tell you just how important math is when it comes to building anything.

To create something of lasting value out of raw materials requires creativity, the right set of tools, and a broad range of mathematics.

Figuring the total amount of concrete needed for a slab; accurately measuring lengths, widths, and angles; and estimating project costs are just a few of the many cases in which math is necessary for real-life home improvement projects.

Whether students work in construction jobs in the future or own a home, having the ability to do minor home improvements will save a lot of money and provide a sense of accomplishment and self-reliance.

Teacher Tip: Consider incorporating a small building project in the classroom--like a simple house out of cardboard boxes or a small wooden boat from a kit--to reteach math-related skills such as measuring, estimating, angles, and following instructions.

2. Math is in the Grocery Store

One of the more obvious places to find people using math in everyday life is at your neighborhood grocery store.

Grocery shopping requires a broad range of math knowledge from multiplication to estimation and percentages.

Each time you calculate the price per unit, weigh produce, figure percentage discounts, and estimate the final price, you're using math in your shopping experience.

Teacher Tip #1: Encourage students to play math challenges at the grocery store with their family. For example, they can estimate the total cost of all groceries prior to checkout. For a greater challenge, encourage students to incorporate coupons, sales, and adjusted pricing for bulk items.

Your little bargain shoppers will thank you later when they're saving money on their own groceries.

Teacher Tip #2: You could also organize a field trip to the grocery store--with the help of a few parents working with smaller student groups--making lists and pricing out items ahead of time, that your class can then use to cook with (see below)!

3. Math Makes Baking Fun

More math can be found in the kitchen than anywhere else in the house. Cooking and baking are sciences all their own and can be some of the most rewarding (and delicious) ways of introducing children to mathematics.
After all:
Recipes are really just mathematical algorithms or self-contained, step-by-step sets of operations to be performed. The proof is in the pudding!

Working in the kitchen requires a wide range of mathematical knowledge, including but not limited to:

measuring ingredients to follow a recipe

multiplying / dividing fractions to account for more or less than a single batch

converting a recipe from Celsius to Fahrenheit

converting a recipe from metric (mL) to US standard units (teaspoon, tablespoon, cups)

calculating cooking time per each item and adjusting accordingly

calculating pounds per hour of required cooking time

understanding ratios and proportions, particularly in baking (ex. the recipe calls for 1 egg and 2 cups of flour, then the ratio of eggs to flour is 1:2).

Following a recipe can sometimes be tricky, especially if conversions are necessary. Conversions are an important part of following recipes when they use Celsius or the metric system, and students can find doing the math a fun part of the cooking experience.

Here are just a few useful measurement conversions for the kitchen:
Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion
Ex. The recipe calls for the oven to be set at 220°C, but yours is labeled by Fahrenheit. To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit in this recipe, follow the following formula:

Formula: °C x 9/5 + 32 = °F

220 x 9/5 + 32 = °F

396 + 32 = 428°F
Metric to US Standard Unit Conversion
1 US legal cup = 240 mL

1 US tablespoon = 14.79 mL

1 US teaspoon = 4.92 mL

1 US fluid ounce = 29.57 mL

Teacher tip: Cook in class! Simple projects like no-bake cookies or snack mixes that require measuring and mixing but no potentially dangerous activities like ovens or knives can be fun while reinforcing math concepts. Plus you get to eat yummy food together! Kids (and adults!) love that kind of math!

4. Math Takes the Risk Out of Travel

Math comes in handy when traveling.
Think of it:
When you travel, math comes along for the ride--from estimating the amount of fuel you'll need to planning out a trip based on miles per hour and distance traveled.

Calculating fuel usage is crucial to long distance travel. Without it, you may find yourself stranded without gas or on the road for much longer than anticipated. You may also use math throughout the trip by paying for tolls, counting exit numbers, checking tire pressure, etc.

Long before GPS and Google Maps, people used atlases, paper road maps, road signs, or verbal directions to navigate throughout the country's highways and byways.

Reading a map is almost a lost art, requiring just a little time, orientation, and some basic math fundamentals.

If you're a teacher, you can show students how to use their math skills for reading maps.
Why?
It will make them safer travelers and less dependent on technology. Plus it's a lot of fun to use old-school maps, drawing out paths to follow, and estimating how long it will take to get somewhere or how many miles will be covered.

Teacher tip #1: Plan pretend trips as a class or in groups. First, teach your students how to orient themselves on a map to start planning a trip by finding their current position on the map. Have them label this as point A. The simplest way to do this is to locate the town you're in. Next, have them pinpoint nearby crossroads, intersections, or an easily identifiable point such as a bridge, building, or highway entrance. Once you've established a starting point, locate where on you want to go (point B). Now you can determine the best route depending on terrain, speed limit, and so on.

Purchasing inexpensive paper maps is a fun way to incorporate this activity into your class. Or go high-tech and use map apps found online.

Teacher tip #2: Teach your students how to navigate by using the sun in the daytime and stars at night.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Depending on the time of day, you can orient yourself based on the sun's position in the sky. This gets a bit trickier around midday as the sun appears directly overhead at noon. The earth's rotation around the sun and sun's position overhead is also the basis for the sundial, Man's first clock.

On a clear night in the Northern Hemisphere, you can locate Polaris (The North Star) by using one of the most recognizable celestial bodies, Ursa Major (The Big Dipper). Two stars on the outer edge of its "dipper" point to a bright star, which all other stars rotate around since it's pointing to the North Pole.

5. Math Helps You Save Money

Most experts agree that without strong math skills, people tend to invest, save, or spend money based on their emotions.
Here's the kicker:
To add to this dilemma, those individuals with poor math fundamentals typically make greater financial mistakes like underestimating how quickly interest accumulates.

A student who thoroughly grasps the concepts of exponential growth and compound interest will be more inclined to better manage debt.

Financial knowledge decays over time, so it's important to keep young people involved.

By continually showing how specific math lessons apply to real life financial situations and budgeting, kids can learn how to properly spend and save their money without fear or frustration.

Teacher tip: Practice investing! Allot your students a set amount of pretend money individually or in groups. After teaching them about saving, investing, and interest, have them make financial decisions with their cash. Follow the stock market and check in on their savings weekly so they can see their totals rise or fall.

6. Math Lets You Manage Time
Time is our most valuable asset.
Teach your students about the value of time by not only teaching how to tell time on analogue and digital clocks, but about the world clock, time zones, calendars, and the value of how they spend their precious time.

In our fast-paced, modern world, we can easily get distracted and find the time has blown by without accomplishing what we meant to.

Teacher tip: Have your students set goals and determine how much time they must put aside daily or weekly to achieve these goals. Have your students calendar their time, create their own to-do lists, and give their tasks a number to rank what their priorities are. Not only are you teaching math, but you're helping a child learn how to organize their life and achieve their dreams!

The bottom line is:
Math is everywhere, operating in real life ways all around us.

So, the next time you or one of your students says, "I'm never going to use this math again!" remember the above examples, to help them be motivated to keep learning math!

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Real World Math: 6 Everyday Examples The fact is: We all use math in everyday applications whether we're aware of it or not. If you look hard enough, you'll see math emerge from some of the most unlikely places. Mathematics is the universal language of our environment, helping mankind explain and create.

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In real life, ordering pizza for a group of people involves having a conversation about what people like, how much they can eat, how much they want to spend and whether pineapple really belongs on pizza.

But in the context of a traditional maths class, the concept of ordering a pizza typically becomes a problem like this:

If one pizza serves four children, how many pizzas do we need for a class of 28 children?

An alarming number of Australian students don't choose mathematics in the senior school years. Figures from 2017 - the most recent available - show only 9.4% of Australian students in years 11 and 12 were enrolled in extended mathematics. This is the lowest percentage in more than 20 years.

Surveys of senior students indicate they believe maths is too hard, too guarded by a rigid set of rules and not applicable to real life.

Clearly, the way we teach is turning students off mathematics. But an inquiry-based approach can make maths relevant and interesting.

So, what is inquiry-based learning?

According to the OECD, today's children face an uncertain future due to technological disruption.

To meet these challenges, the report notes:

[...] students will need to develop curiosity, imagination, resilience and self-regulation; they will need to respect and appreciate the ideas, perspectives and values of others [...]

These skills can't be taught by rote learning or a series of procedures.

An inquiry approach in mathematics is when learning typically starts with a complex question. In the case of the pizza example, that question could be: "What pizzas do we need to order for our class party?"

Read more: Explainer: what is inquiry-based learning and how does it help prepare children for the real world?

As students engage with the question, they work collaboratively - guided by the teacher - to develop an understanding of the mathematics in a more natural way.

Rather than the outcome being a single, correct answer ("We will need seven pizzas for a class of 28"), students put forward a potential solution. They then explain their reasoning and the mathematics they applied to justify their decisions.

from shutterstock.com

The question of what pizzas a class needs provokes an extended investigation that moves beyond simple arithmetic. It requires decisions about how many and what pizza options should be considered (planning for data gathering), surveying of students' pizza preferences (data collection and recording), summarising of the responses (data cleaning and representing), and reporting findings (data summarising).

Students analyse the data to determine how many and what types of pizzas to order (fraction representation and arithmetic) while noting that, in the context, whole pizzas must be ordered.

Mathematical evidence collected by students is used to support, justify and convince peers of their conclusion. The class may then extend this investigation to consider drink purchases, total cost and so on.

Read more: More teens are dropping maths. Here are three reasons to stick with it

In doing this, students develop a deeper understanding of both the mathematics used and when and how it is useful.

Inquiry more closely aligns with the real work of mathematicians. In practice, mathematicians identify, or are approached with, a problem. They must decide on the maths they can use to solve it. Then they come up with a procedure, solve using the mathematics and monitor the outcome.

In traditional classes, student mathematicians typically only solve the mathematics - ironically, this is the only step that can be handed over to technology.

Do we know it works?

Research supporting inquiry in mathematics is building. One of the most comprehensive reviews of the research evidence evaluating the inquiry-based approach to teaching maths and science from primary through to university was conducted in 2013.

It identified a number of benefits for students. These included an enhanced capacity to: transfer learning to new situations; seek challenges; tolerate failure; and build resilience to wrestle with challenging problems.

Read more: What's the point of education? It's no longer just about getting a job

Inquiry was found to enhance the learning outcomes of both lower- and higher-achieving students and students with specific cultural backgrounds including First Nations peoples.

Students who learnt via this method also reported seeing mathematics as interesting and motivating.

Research shows the inquiry-based approach is effective in all year levels. Examples include children as young as 5-6 being able to make predictions using data, to more complicated concepts such as calculating and adjusting volume and proportion using a scaled house plan.

NeONBRAND/Unsplash

The main constraint on implementing inquiry in secondary classrooms is the flexibility needed to engage in problems that often cross disciplines.

For instance, the question "What is the best design for a paper plane?" draws on science for the principles of flight, mathematics for statistics and measurement, and technology for design.

Rigid scheduling of classes compromises such learning. But it can be overcome with liaison between teaching teams.

Strict assessment regimes also put pressures on teachers to complete teaching units at certain times. But inquiry can mean more content is covered in deeper, more connected ways.

Importance of teacher skills

Although the inquiry method is student-centred, encouragement of independent, creative and critical thought must be driven and supported by a skilled teacher. This means recognising when to challenge the students and when to provide support.

The nature of inquiry lends itself to exposing what students don't know. During small group discussions, students put forward ideas and the teacher can identify roadblocks in their approaches.

At these times, a responsive teacher can work with students to develop the conceptual knowledge needed to move forward with their inquiry.

Likewise, students ready to be challenged can apply more advanced concepts as they push themselves to use and develop more complex mathematical solutions. As with all teaching, a balanced approach is key.

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Don't just solve for x: letting kids explore real-world scenarios will keep them in maths class

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In real life, ordering pizza for a group of people involves having a conversation about what people like, how much they can eat, how much they want to spend and whether pineapple really belongs on pizza.

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Too often, our students only realize the importance of math in the real world after they've left school.

Five years down the line, when they're sorting personal finances or putting together IKEA furniture with increasing impatience, they finally get the importance of what we were blabbing on about all those years.

But what if we could connect math to the real world right from the very beginning? We'd never again have to hear "When are we ever going to use this?"

Here are five real-world math activities you can do to teach students the importance of numbers in life outside the classroom.

Use show-and-tell to highlight the use of math outside class

Have a regular round of mathematical show-and-tell where students share any out-of-class encounters they've had with math throughout the week. These might be:

activities they've done at home (tip: you could put parents onto some easy at-home math activities).

math concepts they've noticed in authentic settings (percentages in ads, fractions, and decimals in the newspaper - anything they can find).

everyday tasks in which they've used their mathematical knowledge (this could be as simple as counting out knives and forks for the dinner table).

The discovery of math in the real world is so much more powerful if it comes from students themselves, and that's exactly what this activity does.

Create practical resources using math

One of the best ways to connect math with the real world is using it to create something students find useful outside of math class. Consider:

Timetables

Between music lessons, sport, homework, play dates, and family time, our students have plenty to organize. Show them how to divide up the hours in the day and set aside blocks of time for each commitment.

Goal setting

Specific and quantifiable goals are another opportunity to use numbers. Students could even create graphs to track them toward completion.

These might be academic (e.g. improving grades by a percentage), or cocurricular (e.g. adding up the pages of books read during the year to meet a target).

Pocket money planners

With many middle and high school students managing bank accounts, part-time jobs, and phone plans, developing financial literacy is another opportunity to use math in an authentic context.

You can do it with younger students, too, by creating a class currency (also useful as a behavioral incentive), which they can trade for items in a "class shop".

Creating a real world resource students can actually use proves the relevance of math outside the classroom. And once they know it's not confined to textbooks and assessments, your students will be so much more motivated to hone their numerical skills.

Set real-world math homework activities

Homework is the perfect opportunity to teach math for the real world. After all, students are literally using mathematical reasoning outside of school hours and in a non-classroom environment. At last, they're in the "real world".

Yet we often persist in setting homework that is really just a continuation of classroom activity. Finish off the worksheet, complete the review questions in the textbook, move onto the next chapter ... you get the idea.

Why not take advantage of the home environment by getting students to engage with the mathematical concepts that make a home function? Here are a few ideas:

Budget for the week's grocery shopping. Students can use online supermarket catalogs to plan it out down to the cents!

Cook to a recipe. The perfect opportunity to practice measurement with a real, edible incentive.

Counting and measuring items around the house is a simple activity that helps younger students see the numerical properties of the physical environment.

Bonus: these activities can get parents and families involved, so math becomes a collaborative real-world activity as opposed to a solitary one.

Connect math to student interests

Nothing is more 'real' to our students than the things they already know and love. And when you connect math to these personal interests - it becomes real too.

Do you have a group of budding social media influencers in your class? Have them calculate a projected number of social media followers using exponential growth.

Why not get sports fans to track the scores of their favourite players or teams, and then calculate means, medians, averages, or trends?

And let's not forget about the gamers in the class. Next time they're geeking out they can add up experience points (XP), virtual money spent, or total scores.

Whatever interests your students have, make the mathematical connection. It's the one of the most engaging 'real world' activities you can do.

Use real-life examples

Up the game by using a physical real-world resource in (or out of) the classroom during your instruction.

Let's say you're teaching patterns. Instead of working from a worksheet, you can use something as simple as a brick wall or the pavers outside as an authentic demonstration of patterns in action. You could have students:

continue the pattern, either on paper or maybe using hands-on material

describe it to a partner who has not seen it, who can then try to replicate it according to their instructions

use chalk or an erasable marker to identify other familiar shapes within the pattern.

This also gives you the opportunity to delve into the real-world applications of math. For example, you could enrich any of these pattern activities by asking:
Why might a builder choose this pattern?
And then off the back of this discussion:

So, why do you think it is important for us to know about patterns?

Need more help connecting math with the real world?

Download our free problem-solving and reasoning activities to get students started with real-world mathematical thinking. Check out the other free printables in our resource hub while you're there!

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5 Real-World Math Activities to Teach the Importance of Numbers | 3P Learning

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Too often, our students only realize the importance of math in the real world after they've left school. Five years down the line, when they're sorting personal finances or putting together IKEA furniture with increasing impatience, they finally get the importance of what we were blabbing on about all those years.