Pratham NGO • Research & Concept • 2011
Educational tool to make math fun in the slums
Project
Pratham NGO offers underprivileged children in the slums of New Delhi extra lessons. These children have school from early in the morning till late in the evening and they have difficulties to concentrate, especially for difficult subject like mathematics. After a month of research in New Delhi the first concept of the Math Mat was designed. The Math Mat is an integrated solution to make mathematics more challenging for children in a fun way. The Math Mat consists of a game and exercises which can both be done with simple everyday products like paper and beans. You will get a good impression of the project by watching the video.
My role
Working with a multidisciplinary team for a project during my master Design for Interaction at the Technical University of Delft. It was a very valuable learning experience. We had to organize everything ourselves, from finding a company to work for to applying for funding. During the design process every team member had his own responsibility. I was responsible for the setup of the research and conducting all the interviews and focus group sessions with teachers in the slums.
Interviews & observational research
To be able to design a solution we had to gain deep understanding of the teachers to understand their needs. We combined observational research in the classroom with in-depth interviews.
Focus group & creative sessions
This project is a good example of how valuable focus group session can be. During the one-on-one interviews teachers said that they needed computers. But during the focus group sessions we found out that the biggest issue is the long hours children make, and that this results in that they are not able to concentrate. This insight eventually led to the design of the Math Mat.
The concept of the Math Mat
The Math Mat is an integrated solution to make mathematics more challenging for children in a fun way. The Math Mat consists of a game and exercises which can both be done with simple everyday products like paper and beans.
The result
A very intense project. We moved out of of your comfort zone in a very busy city like Delhi and conducted research there. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Below you can see what the Math Mat looks like in a classroom setting.