"Creative thinking starts with small steps, some structure and method until we are able to make a leap and make reasoning, problem-solving, and creativity a part of our lives and personality.”
I started teaching mathematics and reasoning to children only after I retired from lecturing at the University of Oxford, England. However, as a father of two adult children and two young kids I already had quite a bit of experience trying to coax young minds in mathematical reasoning.
My journey from a child that loved math in then-Soviet Latvia to lecturing at University of Oxford was a long one. I completed my initial degrees in theoretical and mathematical physics and later completed my PhD in biophysics in Russia and in Sweden. Subsequently I spent several decades at the University of Oxford researching, lecturing, and working on mathematical modeling of biological processes. Today I am inspired to share what I have learned during my journey with young students.
Discovering Thinking
I have always thought that teaching maths and sciences to young children was incredibly important. Nowadays, I believe that teaching children how to think and how to reason can be more important than the specific subjects or curriculum that they are taught.