Vector Calculus Through Stories

Learning math through story is an interesting phenomenon. That too learning higher mathematics as story is similar to adding honey to a fruit bowl.

A student never sleeps deliberately in the class. If at all he sleeps, I strongly believe that the teacher is also one of the reasons for that.

Some innovative methods to overcome this difficulty are Storytelling, Open

Classroom Learning, Students Learning as a group.

From the day I joined as a math teacher in engineering college, the only question that is asked by students till date is “What is the use of this math?” Generally, a maths graduate teaches math. An engineering graduate teaches engineering. But an unanswered question till date is who is the right person to teach engineering maths in an engineering college.

Unable to get the answer to this question, In the classroom while teaching the students, I was like an unwilling mother talking to her child.

My inability to answer this question, made me feel soulless in my classroom. Hatred for myself started growing day by day. This question enlightened a spark in me to upgrade myself as an engineering maths teacher. The effect was emergence of math learning through story narration.

Corona 19 curfew helped me a lot to have various views and thoughts about this.

This curfew was very helpful in implementing this math learning through story narration and was also very successful.

Both students and teachers were at home during this period without any contact in person.

First I narrated a story using the terminologies in Vector calculus to the students. Then I divided the students into groups and made them to form stories of their own. This was very successful. I did not see students.The students did not see me either.

We were all separated by spaces but united by Voices. Students submitted their stories to me.

The feel I had when I read those stories was like the feel a mother had when she sees her son years after birth for first time.

I realized that 80 percent of the learning was done.

That's the minute I started calculating my teaching profession.

Here I am presenting to you the vector calculus story that was written by my students.

I thank the almighty for providing this great opportunity and also my family and friends who gave their full support for my work.

Kanithaachariyar

Dr.R.Prabakaran

Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Coimbatore Institute of Technology

Coimbatore- 641014

rpcitcbe@gmail.com

9789652826

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