Thirteen year old Luke Robatille took home the top prize of $20,000 in the 2017 Raytheon Mathcount National Championships, after an amazing display of critical thinking in maths word problems.
“In a barn, 100 chicks sit peacefully in a circle. Suddenly, each chick randomly pecks the chick immediately to its left or right. What is the expected number of un-pecked chicks?”
0.9 seconds later, Robatille had the answer and the top prize.
“We’ve never had a student win the championship on a question that quickly before,” Lou DiGioia, executive director of Mathcount said, “The speed with which he can do mental calculations is extraordinary.”
Robatille’s story perfectly exemplifies the importance of studying maths from a young age, and being able to overcome the mental barriers associated with word problems. In less than one second Robatille was able to deconstruct the question to simple probability, do the calculations and confidently answer the question.
At BrainBuilder™, the education specialists are trained to teach children how to harness creative and critical thinking skills and strategies to solve challenging problems in a timely manner while under pressure. Moreover by building on the principles of Singapore maths, BrainBuilder students are equipped with the skills required to take on word problems in the most efficient manner.
Give the opportunity for your child to reach their potential, at BrainBuilder™ the passion of learning maths will shine through. Maths student today, perhaps Maths winner tomorrow.
