Mathman
As a student, math was often a challenge for me—sometimes even excruciating. It felt boring, and I struggled to engage with the material. However, I distinctly remember the impact one teacher made by turning math lessons into a game, transforming something difficult into something enjoyable. This memory inspired me to create “Mathman,” a lesson designed for 4th graders to practice and reinforce their multiplication and division skills.
Using a dynamic comic book style and interactive multiple-choice questions, “Mathman” makes learning both engaging and fun. Built with Figma and Articulate Storyline, this lesson aims to give students a fresh way to approach math, ensuring that the learning experience is both educational and entertaining.
The Process
First, I consulted a 4th grade teacher, my Subject Matter Expert, to understand her biggest challenge, which she identified as reviewing and reinforcing multiplication and division skills, as students often struggled to stay engaged, especially at the beginning of term.
With this insight, I reviewed the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum to outline the specific learning objectives, skills, and knowledge expected of 4th graders by the end of the school year.
Together, we decided to harness the students’ love of comics by creating a simple game that allowed them to practice multiplication and division in an engaging way.
We decided to measure success by monitoring test scores, both before and after playing the game.
With all this in mind, I created a Design Document and Style Guide for the SME to evaluate.
Once everything was approved, I moved on to the storyboarding and wireframing process.
