Soroban – a road sign for future education
Soroban – a road sign for future education

Summary/Abstract: At the time of dynamic development of new technologies and easy access to varied toolsfacilitating the solving of complex mathematical and IT problems, one may notice a discreetand timid comeback to old and often forgotten educational tools. The author, asking aboutthe shape of the future education remarks that formal education is often replaced by newexamples of non-formal and incidental education. This manner of learning, different from theone commonly offered by educational institutions, turns out not to be less effective.A perfect example here is the skill of using soroban – a Japanese abacus. At the beginningthe author presents history of abacus which dates back to Ancient Rome. In 15th centuryit travels from China, via Korea to Japan. In modern times, when computational techniqueusing soroban was permanently included in Mathematics textbooks, developed by Ministryof Education in Japan, it is constantly being improved. This technique and culture arrived inPoland where the Polish Championships in Sorban Calculations have been held since 2014.The author defends his thesis that soroban is something more than just an abacus. Basingon research results he point out to the relationship between the finger movement duringthe calculations on soroban and brain development in students. A considerable increase inthe activity of the right hemisphere and new connections between both hemispheres affectthe improvement of concentration, memory and evaluation of the situation. The capacity forsolving complex problems and understanding spatial systems is improved. Skillful sorobanuse decreases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Details
• Contents