For all students who dread the prospect of mugging up mathematical formulae and equations, Ravindra Keskar, a former lecturer at the St. Xavier Institute of Engineering, Mumbai, has a simple solution. He propagates use of the Japanese art of origami (folding paper to create diverse three-dimensional shapes) to make squares, cubes, circles, cylindrical and other geometrical patterns, which help to understand arcane concepts such as the relationship between the volume of a square and its area or the dimensions of a cubical object.
“Most maths-phobic students find it difficult and tedious to grasp concepts chalked out on blackboards. Through origami we can give complicated equations physical shapes, which help students understand the importance and method of making certain calculations,” says Keskar, speaking to your correspondent on the sidelines of a maths workshop held in Pune at the Muktangan Exploratory Science Centre in early March.
An alumnus of Wadia College, Pune which awarded him a diploma in electronics and radio engineering, Keskar began his career in the electronics division of Telco (now Tata Motors) before signing up with the St. Xavier Institute of Engineering, Mumbai where he rose to the position of senior lecturer. In 2000, he quit academia to popularise and teach science to slum children in Mumbai and help in the psychological rehabilitation of the Bhopal gas tragedy victims of 1984. Currently he is a resource person under a Central government fellowship for a nationwide Mathematics Through Origami training programme.
Keskar has conducted over 100 workshops on origami, imparting training to more than 3,000 teachers and voluntary activists country-wide. A self-taught expert on origami and its application to maths learning, Keskar explains that origami models make learning of computer programs, writing algorithms and developing chemistry models and DNA helix delightfully simple. “It also kindles creativity and enhances the flexibility of fingers,” he says.
The workshop held in Pune provided ample evidence on how this Japanese art form facilitates maths learning. More than 40 students and teachers participated. “I never believed maths could be made so simple,” exulted Diksha Ranpise, a Kendriya Vidyalaya student, whose desk was festooned with square, rectangular and assorted shapes. “I didn’t think I could sit in a maths class for so long. Origami shapes simplified concepts and added dimensions to the shapes that we are used to seeing on blackboards.”
Keskar believes that his idea is working, and as a result more children are learning and enjoying maths. “There are umpteen coaching classes for maths today that promise cent percent results, but how many of these merit-holders actually use maths concepts in their lives? Learning through origami suggests how,” says Keskar.
Huned Contractor (Pune)