MATH - Mountains of Absolutely Terrifying Height

PISA and other forms of educational evaluation in Europe have shown that European students often lack basic mathematical skills. Many students have difficulties with the way mathematics is taught and in most countries girls or female students seem to have even greater problems than boys or male students. This is in stark contrast to the goals of the European Union as set out in the 2020 strategy. However, to enable smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and to develop and support Europe as an innovative union, people with appropriate degrees in science, mathematics and engineering are needed.

At the same time, it is well known that mathematics can be a stumbling block for learners. On the one hand, this threatens the successful completion of studies, which can lead to early dropout or leaving school early, and on the other hand, it causes the experience of failure and reduces motivation to pursue careers in science, mathematics and engineering.

STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are becoming increasingly important and the European Commission wants to promote education in this area (see European Commission / EACEA: Developing challenges and opportunities for policy-makers Eurydice report on schooling in Europe, 2012). This has also been on the EU agenda since 2009 in the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on “Improving skills for the 21st century”. The MATH project - Mountains of Absolutely Terrifying Height - is an important step in promoting learners in the STEM field with a clear focus on mathematics.

The EU has explicitly chosen the reduction of early school leaving as one of its priorities. According to the EU's strategic growth strategy, Europe 2020, a key factor in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth is stronger development of basic skills for all learners. The European Commission sees basic knowledge such as mathematics as the foundation for further learning, leading to better qualifications. According to the EU Commission, about 20% of young people do not have the necessary basic skills, which has serious consequences for their future professional development.

The project title, MATH - Mountains of Absolutely Terrifying Height (MATH), already suggests the understanding of and attitude towards mathematics for many learners. The way math is taught in most schools seems to be difficult for many students, so even basic math skills become literally terrifying mountains that students fear and find difficult to climb. Forcing students to climb them only makes the situation worse and reinforces fear and disinterest in the minds of many students.

This is precisely where the MATH project comes in, with the creation of a serious game called MATH.

The aim of the MATH project is to develop and implement a different approach that presents the mountains as a fun opportunity to challenge your friends to a game. The game-based learning approach offers trophies for achievements (like medals for different slopes that learners climb in the game). MATH is a serious game that playfully and competitively enables a positive encounter with mathematics in general education and vocational school contexts and creates motivation to learn mathematical skills.

The consortium intends to create a showcase of how a well-executed game-based learning approach can improve learners' basic mathematical skills. The game will be implemented as a smartphone app in which learners can challenge other learners to a mountain climbing competition. Climbing a mountain is done by quickly solving easier or more difficult mathematical problems, the difficulty level depending on the current inclination of the mountain.

The Challenge Mode will take an asynchronous approach that allows the challenger to climb the mountain first. The challenged friend will then attempt to climb the mountain faster. They can see both fighters climbing side by side. The implementation can be done completely one after the other or in rounds, which will be specified in more detail during the project implementation.

In solitary mode, the game will give learners the opportunity to practice, get awards, get to the top of the various mountains and unlock new challenges.

The MATH project is initially focusing on basic mathematical skills, using a game-based approach to train learners to perform calculations and apply basic mathematical concepts. The consortium is creating a serious game that can be played at different skill levels, starting with primary school. However, it also includes and trains tasks in higher mathematics and mathematics for professional contexts.

The consortium is also investigating how disadvantaged learners with math difficulties can be motivated to play the game and improve their skills. The results will be published and made available for others to use in building better learning solutions. The game will be widely used as a showcase for a modern approach to learning that encourages learners to practice and improve their skills. As it is planned to distribute the game as an app for the most popular smartphones, it has the potential to reach thousands of learners across Europe.

A consortium of five partners has been carefully selected for the project. The consortium is led by the University of Paderborn as coordinator under Prof. Dr. Marc Beutner. The Chair of Business Education II contributes expertise in evaluation, e-learning and media didactics, and focuses on tasks for vocational education and training and for other types of schools. The SME Ingenious Knowledge has the technical skills to create innovative serious games of the highest quality. The three schools were selected for their innovative strength and their experience in creating new approaches. They will make important contributions to testing, evaluating and disseminating the game among other schools, teachers and students. In addition, the tasks will be generated here according to the type of school and adapted to the different target groups.