Mathtrails with MCM – A Seminar at the University of Paderborn

In the summer semester of 2022, Dr. Susanne Podoworny offered a seminar on MathCityMap for master students of elementary school teaching at the University of Paderborn. We would like to present a report about the implementation of this great seminar idea in this article.

The goal of the seminar was to create and implement a mathematical trail using the MCM app with elementary school children on a suitable theoretical basis.

In the area around Paderborn, two elementary schools could be won over, which agreed to carry out a mathematical trail with five first and two second classes later on.

After a few sessions in which the students explored theoretical backgrounds on learning in out-of-school places, learning with digital media, and of course MathCityMap, four student groups formed to create four mathematical walking paths with MCM. The students found it particularly challenging to create appropriate tasks for the still very young target group. One student wrote in this regard “It’s very difficult to formulate tasks for first grade when the kids can barely read.”

The implementation then took place in a double lesson at each of the two elementary schools. The trails were designed along the schoolyards and often referred to the playground equipment. Overall, the student teachers reported that the students involved, as well as the teachers, greatly appreciated this different mathematics lesson. A questionnaire was distributed to the students by the students and 145 children completed it. Some results can be seen in the following diagram.

As a hint from the implementation, the recommendation to integrate a read-aloud function into the MathCityMap app arose, which we gladly take up for the further development of our system.

The seminar was well attended with 24 students. On the one hand, the students appreciated the freedom offered by the seminar design and, on the other hand, the real-life work with elementary school children, which gave everyone a lot of pleasure. Due to the positive response from the students, this seminar will be offered again in the winter semester.