Reneta Kristiani Guides Children and Parents Discover the Joy of Learning Maths

During the COVID-19 pandemic, child psychologist Reneta Kristiani was flooded with calls from parents seeking guidance on how to deal with children who refused to attend remote lessons, notably mathematics.

Even before the pandemic, learning maths was often a source of stress for students and parents, as it is the foundation of understanding other courses. But with remote learning, the stress grew even more intense.

“Parents had become accustomed to leaving their children's education in the hands of the school. When the pandemic hit, parents were at a loss because they had to be directly involved in their children's lessons,” said Neta, who founded Pelangi Psychological Services in Kota Wisata, Bogor.

Maths is particularly challenging for parents because it goes beyond just calculating numbers,

and involves abstract concepts such as greater or lesser that are difficult to grasp for young children, she said.

“Young children need something that they can see or touch. So the parents became impatient trying to teach maths because they didn’t know how to do it, while the children detested it even more. It created tension at home,” said Neta, a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia.

She is pursuing a doctoral degree at Monash University, funded by the Australian Government through an Australia Awards Scholarship. Her PhD will examine the Conceptual Playworld in teaching mathematics to early years children in Indonesian families.

Learning Through Play

Maths is incredibly useful in daily life, from shopping to balancing a chequebook. However, the discouraging teaching methods contribute to low interest in learning maths among Indonesian students and poor maths skills.

In a 2018 global survey of 15-year-old students by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Indonesian students' maths performance was ranked 68 out of 75 participating countries.

Affer witnessing how the pandemic learning environment took a toll on the mental health of parents and children, Neta grew increasingly interested in exploring ways to make maths fun.

Her search led to Monash University’s PlayLab, which developed Conceptual Playworld based on Vygotsky’s Cultural-Historical Theory. Founded by Laureate Professor Marilyn Fleer and her team, Conceptual Playworld is a research-based approach that discovered a new and effective way of teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

With the Conceptual Playworld approach, adults and children play together in imaginary worlds to solve challenges and learn concepts in STEM in a fun way.

For example, to introduce mathematics to young children, a parent could start the play world with a storybook about a farmer whose farm is damaged by a storm. Afterwards, the child could role-play as a farmer, and their parent could play as an animal. The parent might ask the child how to rebuild the farm while separating big and small animals.

“The child is encouraged to express ideas to solve the problem. So, the emphasis is on the child’s mathematical problem-solving process,” explained Neta, a mother of two boys aged 6 and 11.

“The most important thing is to get children interested in STEM in the first place. When they become interested, they will learn more without being asked.”

Not Giving Up

Neta went to great lengths to obtain the Australia Awards Scholarships. After failing her first attempt in 2022, she tried again and was successful in the next round of 2023 enrolment.

She was most grateful that her supervisors, Dr Liang Li and Dr Prabhat Rai, members of Playlab led by Prof Fleer, agreed to keep her application open until she was awarded the scholarship.

"They've been very supportive. Finding supervisors and having the right research are critical for obtaining a scholarship. During the AAS interview, I felt confident that my study would assist Indonesia. I continued to be in regular contact with my supervisors," Neta stated.

Neta has just been in Australia for six months but has already seen a difference in early childhood education.

“Australia prioritises early childhood education because it is what we call the golden period. It serves as the foundation for their growth and development,” she said.

Playing as Therapy

Neta has already worked with the use of play as a therapy. For her masters degree, she researched using storytelling as a Cognitive Behavioural Play Therapy (CBPT) to assist children aged 5 in coping with their parents’ divorce.

Her mentor, child psychologist Mayke Sugianto Tedjasaputra, with whom she shares a practice at the Kancil, a child growth and development centre in Jakarta, inspired her to use play as a therapy.

Neta was also inspired by her mother, physician Dr Eriana Tristianti, and her upbringing in a vibrant, book-loving home.

“Play is a very effective medium to communicate with children because for them, playing is their world,” said Neta, who graduated with a masters degree in clinical child psychology from the University of Indonesia in 2009. “By playing, we interact with children. We go into their world.”

Partnering With Parents

While Neta still has four years to complete her studies, she will promote Conceptual Playworld to Indonesian parents.

Neta said she wanted to introduce the concept to parents instead of teachers because the pandemic highlighted the importance of equipping parents to teach science or maths to their children.

“In Indonesia, we tend to focus on early childhood education in schools. We forget that home is the foundation of early childhood education,” she said. 

To introduce the concept, Neta plans to start with clients at her clinics and with relevant government ministries. She also wants to collaborate with non-government organisations to make maths learning modules based on the Conceptual Playworld approach for parents of marginalised families with little access to schools, if any.

"I am a partner for the parents,” she said. “So, I want parents to be able to teach maths to their children in a fun way. Children will enjoy learning by playing with their parents. There is no tension during home lessons. Both parents and children are happy, and this will bring them closer together.”