Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading and founder of MathsThroughStories.org), served as an invited keynote speaker at an international webinar organised by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Mathematics. The event, held to commemorate Indonesia’s National Education Day, brought together approximately 300 primary and secondary mathematics teachers from across Southeast Asia.
Centred on the theme ‘Transforming Numeracy in Education: Innovative Approaches to Empower Future Generations’, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s keynote introduced mathematical storytelling as a creative pedagogical approach to teach and learn mathematics. Drawing on his research, he highlighted the importance of empowering students to take an active role in their learning by creating short mathematical story picture books – an approach which values contextualisation and visualisation to deepen mathematical understanding. Teachers from across the region were also introduced to Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition and encouraged to participate in next year’s event, for which the Centre currently serves as an Outreach Partner. Since its launch in 2019, the competition has received entries from more than 5,000 students across nearly 30 countries around the world.
Uki Rahmawati (Head of the Centre’s Programme Division) commented: “From the 166 teachers who completed the evaluation form [of the 300 teachers attended the event], the vast majority said they were eager to learn more about Math Through Stories. Given this strong interest, I’ll be discussing potential collaboration opportunities with our Board of Directors.”
Dr. Trakulphadetkrai will explore the possibility of embedding his Maths Through Stories training as part of the Centre’s annual continuing professional development (CPD) programme for teachers in the region to maximise the potential impact of his research.
The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is a regional intergovernmental body dedicated to advancing cooperation in education, science, and culture among Southeast Asian nations. SEAMEO works closely with its member countries to enhance educational quality and promote shared solutions to regional challenges. Spanning a vast and diverse region – including Indonesia, which has the world’s fourth-largest education system –SEAMEO’s work reaches millions of students and educators.
