Whizz kids of Scoil Padre Pio

The children of Scoil Padre Pio in Churchfield are taking part in a new pilot project Maths Whizz, which will help to compensate for any learning gaps left by lockdowns.

Every student sets up their own profile on the online programme, and after a diagnostic test they are given their own maths age. Maths Whizz, based in London, then uses artificial intelligence to build a personalized lesson plan for each child.

The virtual tutor adapts lessons to suit each individual student, monitors progress, and provides confidence boosting prompts, just like a human teacher would.

Children really enjoy the one-to-one interaction with the tutor, who makes sure that every student is secure in their understanding of each concept and capable of reaching over 70 per cent on a short test before progressing to new material.

Parents get reports on their children’s progress, as well as guidelines on how to use the programme and a support service provided through live chat or phone calls.

The staff and children at Scoil Padre Pio are delighted with this new approach to the teaching of maths, which will really supplement classroom learning of a vitally important STEM subject.

Reaching a decent standard in maths is an ideal foundation for coding. Projects like Maths Whizz will hopefully equip more students to study computer science, a new second level subject.

Scoil Padre Pio would like to thank retired businessman Denis O’Donovan for donating tablets and laptops to their school, as well as a tablet sanitizer which enables the tablets to be used by a greater number of children on a daily basis.

The school would be extremely grateful to any businesses who might be upgrading their IT systems and would be able to donate IT equipment that they no longer need.

For more, contact Sean Barry on 085-7516908.