Classified Items
IMA Mental-Arithmetic
by IMA - Johor Taman Universiti Centre1166 views @ 02-Feb-2018
The INTELLIGENT Mental-Arithmetic (IMA) education programme builds the ability to calculate fast and accurately. Learners are guided to use his mental ability fully. This programme will stimulate both portions of the brain, hence allowing the right brain development itself to be flexible and to think even more effectively.
As the consciousness of numbers is gradually developed in children from one and a half to two years old, concrete items should further strengthen it, so that they know their association. At this stage, concrete items work as "teaching aids". Through constant exploration, practice and tries, children get the concept of numbers. The process goes from the concrete, semi-concrete to total abstract. The learning of abacus helps the understanding of natural science because it has concrete string of balls to help thinking. "The elevation of abacus" means the ability to calculate by concrete balls to the invisible, imagery or formal calculation, which then reaches the level of mental-arithmetic. The learning of abacus has the same process as Piaget's and Burner's cognitive theory, which emphasizes the mental development from the concrete to the conceptual, formal and symbolic.
The grading examination scheme will assess INTELLIGENT (IMA) students on their capability in the calculation of Abacus and Mental-Arithmetic. Each paper will vary from Grade 1 to Grade 10 and Grand Level, in which Grand Level possesses the highest achievement of the examination. In order to judge on students' performance, examination results will be classified into the grades of DISTINCTION, CREDIT, PASS and FAIL. All certificates will be awarded to students who have passed the examination.
Intelligent Mental-Arithmetic (IMA) programme enables to develop children's mental faculty by using "Both-hand Abacus Mental-Arithmetic". The following are some skills which will be produced in IMA programme.
CONCENTRATION SKILL
Concentration is the concentrated and directed attention towards a particular matter with clear reflection that creates a deep image and mental impression. An enhanced concentration leads to better absorption power. Studying will then be a joyful thing for these children. In the abacus and Mental-Arithmetic education, children will be trained to concentrate when listening to the teachers' question (that ranges from easy to difficult) and then focus on calculating the answers based on visualizing an imaginary abacus and its beads as accurately as possible.
OBSERVATION SKILL
Observation is the ability to compare, analyze and differentiate objects, motives and steps .It is also a state of alertness and swiftness of the mind and sense. This comes from the need of students to understand the theoretical requirements of each calculation, the use of Mental-Arithmetic flash cards and at the same time be aware of the time and promptings from the teachers.
VISUALIZATION AND IMAGINATION SKILL
By using the imagination of the right brain to visualize the abacus in mind, inevitably the powers of visualization would become sharp and clear. Einstein believes that the imagination is more important than knowledge, because imagination is the main source of yet-to-be-discovered knowledge.
MEMORY SKILL
Memory is the ability to store and retrieve information and experiences. It has been found that memory in the left brain would not stay long, but an image that is recorded in the right brain would stay on in mind forever. By stimulating the right brain with Mental-Arithmetic, and in combination with the alertness of the eyes, ears and hands, the ability to store and recall is developed together. Therefore, the ability to solve 10-digit calculation questions in only a few seconds is only a small success in comparison to the actual brain development that has been achieved during the training.
Furthermore, the essential aspect of our teaching is to pass on the skill of mastering abacus usage in a light and gentle way, with swift response to the subject matters accurately. The topics include vivid movement of body parts, proper calculation logic, stable learning mood which also touches on stability, patience, concentration, reaction capability and even setback-handling. With the harmonized coordination of body and soul, an ideal environment for learning will come about naturally. A child is the darling in the eyes of his caring parents. He is also the future leader of the country. He will inevitably face competition and challenges in time to come. It is our sincere hope that more children will benefit from our training programme, to equip them with the basics for a promising future.
For more details, please contact IMA Global Principal Office at Tel +607-521 1178 | +607-521 1278 | +607-521 1378 or visit https://www.ima.edu.my
