Ghana Math Camp

We spent a hectic two weeks in Ghana, preparing for the math camp and then teaching it. There were a lot of tasks to be completed before the students arrived so we ended up working very long days. We did quit early on Saturday and had a quick dip in a pool at a local hotel and enjoyed a meal of LOBSTER at another local hotel. You don’t know how delicious this was after a week of eating institutional food.

On Sunday, we moved to a very basic guest house on the Cape Coast University campus near where the camp would be held. The students arrived Sunday afternoon. This was the first time the camp was held in Ghana and most of the students had to pay for it so there were fewer students.  They were very shy at first but as the week went on, they became animated and enthusiastic. By Saturday, they were very sad to leave. It was wonderful to see the effect the camp had on them. They learned how to think strategically, to reason and think through problems. They also became more self confident. The learning style in Africa is lecturing by teachers and rote rote memorization so it is wonderful for the students to experience such a different approach. I will follow up with some of them when they go back to school to see if their grades improve. At both camps, the returned campers told me that their grades in every subject, not just math, improved after attending the camp.

Mel taught computer sessions and an interesting course on big numbers. I taught a session on the Ghana Constitution  which turned out to be a lot of fun. I asked the students whether a law requiring that 50% of the incoming medical school class students be female was constitutional. They divided into groups and presented opposing views. It was very lively and the students were able to argue their positions well. I learned a lot about their culture in the process. I also taught several courses on logic and the one I mentioned before on the computer program Gapminder, It is a fascinating program which enables you to make comparisons between countries using statistics on all kinds of developmental measures. I did a lot of interviewing of students and I will write a report on the week.

We flew to Kenya on an overnight flight Saturday night.

The porch at AIMS Ghana

Our last night at AIMS, we went to a nearby resort to swim. There were many colorful lizards.

The very nice circular pool.

Sunset

Some of the international instructors-Marc, Mel, Danny, David and Jeff

Dinner at a local restaurant with Danny, David, Aurelia and Clarisse. Aurelia and Clarisse are HS students from England who came for the camp

The whole international crew

I can't begin to convey how delicious this lobster was after all of the institutional food day after day!

First night of Ghana camp

Strategizing with Connect Four

These girls got so animated giving presentations on the constitutional issue.

Learning the rules of a computer game called Snake.

A small break from learning to teach us local dancing

Georg was an instructor from Germany

The girl, Glory, had so much poise and intelligence.

Some of these kids had never seen a computer before but they picked up the skills quickly.

Giving a presentation using the Gapminder Program

Freddie is a Brit who is working in Ghana managing a plantation in a distant part of Ghana. He drove several students to the camp and helped out.

The students had a lot to say during the closing ceremony. They were very enthusiastic about the camp.

Frances took care of the logistics for the camp-a super nice guy!

David

The day the camp was over, we drove to Accra and had a huge, delicious meal!