Born during the Covid19 incubation period, ‘Cricket-Math™’ is fast becoming a household name globally as families embrace the virtual learning world and going forward, a blended reality. Next 18 to 36 months, will see a mix of online learning and physical engagements in classrooms but the precise number of days in the physical world will be dependent on law makers and government officials and yes, you as parents! Well, that’s a debate for another time.
Does learning therefore get ‘halted’ or stop simply because the physical spaces are under extended lockdown?
Well the past 8 to 10 weeks with some schools completing their last quarter of the previous academic year, or starting a new one have embraced on line teaching and learning in a way that is heartening. Learning, therefore has not stopped and instead allowed for more innovation, and creativity, we may add.
With so many e-resources available, gaming options, edutainment and educational content as downloaded resources, why has Cricket-Math™ caught the imagination of students more than some of the other available options?
Well to answer it simply, learning be it in the physical or virtual one must be connected to passion, area of interest, some form of healthy gamification and creativity. Sports integration, therefore, especially Cricket makes a strong case for starters. With sporting activities suspended and even if they do commence, it may be a world without stadiums, the collaborative brains behind Cricket-Math™, the Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE) founded by celebrated sportsman Ajit Agarkar, and his award winning wife, Fatema, an educationalist and the enterprising Divesh Bathija’s popular UnMath School found an unique way to engage with students (Grade 4 to 8) using the math that makes Cricket a truly scientific game!
Not sure how that works?
Using Ajit Agarkar’s illustrious career matches (he’s a veteran of 4 World Cups) as a backdrop from when he made his debut for India at 20 (played since he was 10 years old, and rose quickly up the ranks as a gifted and thinking cricketer setting records in school cricket), Cricket-Math™ uses the grade level ‘syllabus’ learning outcomes taught in schools be it national or international and creates unique case studies for students to ‘solve’ while ‘playing’ live with fellow students who have signed up, and through these engaging, interactive group sessions, students learn to apply quadratic equations, linear and non-linear equations, transformations, decimals and basically, ‘tested’ math concepts in school. But this time, in a way that connects to real life.
So, what really happens?
Ajit Agarkar’s pre-recorded videos are shown after each game byte that they watch, and what he has experienced during that moment when he batted or bowled or took a catch while representing Mumbai in Ranji Trophy or for India in T20, Test Matches or One Dayer’s, or KKR and Delhi Daredevils during IPL, and sharing also while sharing some dressing room tit bits, packs in ‘clues’ for kids to ‘play’ the game
Cricket, after all is all about Math as Ajit Agarkar shares, “To think about it, it is always about calculations when you are on the field. As a Captain, I know how important probability is when deciding who gets to bowl the last over. But it is also about the pitch conditions, the pressure in that game, past statistics, and the way the player has played that particular game so far in that particular match. History is past tense!”
Arav Shah, a 5th grader who has attended these Certified 4 day Boot Camps shared, “I was not a fan of Cricket but I love Math, but once I enrolled in the program, I got to know about the game, and for me, it was taking some calculative permutations to work out the answers, and I loved competing as a Captain. Going forward I may not play the physical game, but I am a fan now because the game is a lot of fun when I hear Ajit talk about it!”
Each month, Cricket-Math™ hosts e Boot Camps, that are 4 certified flexible-timed gaming sessions where students ‘solve’ problems and ‘play’ the game. Given this is not their routine online school work load, and they get to solve everything within these 4 sessions makes Cricket-Math™, a quick break-from-the-routine fun option yet amassing knowledge which makes the parents happy too!
Shradha Nair, a parent keen to enrol her boys in Grade 4 and 8 in the June Boot Camp mentioned, “I have grown up watching Ajit as a kid so for me personally, it was kind of a fan moment, and my boys are semi interested in the game, but after watching the videos, they are super excited because the format is different, and they like that someone will mentor them and that they can connect with a child who is in another part of the country!” So with parents whose kids have enrolled expressing their pleasure about the relevance of Math, especially when some kids seem to get anxious with numbers who have now become Math-patient and approaching Math concepts taught in school with interest, Cricket-Math™ is sure ticking all the boxes – those that love the game of cricket and math and for those who were hesitant about numbers, they have found a patience for it while playing cricket!!
As Fatema Agarkar and Divesh Bathija sum up, “Given that we work closely with parents in the education space, a lot of them wanted something to make their kids enjoy learning. And we felt that by assessing students when they enrol, we can also give parents a quick heads up about their child’s level which will help them ‘brush’ up some skills that they are not comfortable with, which adds so much value!”
Cricket-Math™ is unique and a cost effective, personalised and uniquely curated gaming format that brings the relevance of knowledge to the fore-front. So, parents, check this new kid on the block and register now for the June Boot Camp 2020.
Contact details as follows: 8369971774 / 7700097444
Email Id: [email protected]
Website: www.cricketmath.com
Also read: Cricket-Math™: Swinging, fast breaking and records!
