The Dutch curriculum in mathematics for secondary schools is prone for innovation. The Dutch knowledge centre SLO has prepared a memorandum entitled ‚Contribute to tomorrow’s education‘. Some relevant conclusions from the problem analysis:
• Mathematics and arithmetic prepare students for further education and help students in work and daily life (socialization)
• Practicing arithmetic & mathematics has value in itself for the student (personal development), from abstract thinking to creative problem solving.
• In the lower secondary education, there is little attention for mathematical thinking, quantitative information skills, mathematizing and numeracy.
The aim of SmartPool Europe is to develop a curriculum and lesson program that is adapted to the situation and requirements of each participating country. The result is a lesson program that can and will be used for the implementation of SmartPool at the schools that participate in the pilot studies.
SmartPool is originally a Dutch initiative and was launched in June 2018. SmartPool combines pool billiards with mathematics/arithmetic for young students (9 to 15 years).
SmartPool’s goal is to make beta courses more attractive through the combination with pool billiards. For schools, a curriculum will be developed in which the elements of pool have been translated into mathematical issues (for example, calculating with billiard balls (number concept and basic arithmetic), hitting the right point (geometry) or finding the correct angle (geometry with angles), for example by visualizing pool billiard situations. The reason for this is that children often don’t think math is ‚cool‘. By introducing SmartPool, the pupils not only improve their skills in the field of mathematics and numeracy , but also to improve their precision and concentration skills. With SmartPool, students can further develop all these skills in an accessible and fun way.
