Quality Education Development Associates (QEDA) has completed an eight-week pilot of 'Mama Maths', an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Mathematics learning platform. The platform aims to help teachers identify pupils' learning gaps and provide targeted support. The pilot, conducted under QEDA's Numeracy Enhancement, Research and Development (NERD) project, involved six Nigerian schools and focused on grade two pupils. The project, implemented in partnership with Ebase Africa, ran from March to August 2026.
The pilot involved three intervention schools and three control schools across urban, semi-urban, and rural communities. According to Senior Programme Officer, Gabriel Okechukwu Sylvester, 'Mama Maths' was designed to fit the Nigerian grade two curriculum, ensuring that the content aligns with the country's approved learning framework. The platform not only supports pupils but also eases the demands faced by teachers, particularly in lesson planning. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to teach specific topics.
The 'Mama Maths' platform offers a range of features to support teachers and pupils. It allows teachers to type a topic they want to teach and generates a lesson plan with a step-by-step guide. The project placed considerable emphasis on preparing teachers to use the technology effectively, with participating teachers undergoing intensive training before the classroom intervention. The training covered pedagogical approaches such as the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) method and the 'I do, We do, You do' model.
The training for participating teachers lasted for three days, although an earlier programme had involved four days of training. The project adopted activity-based learning and provided teachers with continuous support through school visits and a WhatsApp community of practice. This allowed teachers to share challenges and receive guidance. The project team initially planned two school support visits but increased the frequency to weekly visits after observing the need for sustained assistance.
In addition to the digital platform, instructional materials were supplied to participating schools to provide pupils with opportunities for hands-on learning. Parental engagement was also a key component of the intervention, with caregivers invited to orientation sessions and given assignments to reinforce learning at home. This approach aimed to ensure that pupils received consistent support both in and out of the classroom.
According to Project Manager, Tatianne Ambang, the pilot was primarily designed to examine how 'Mama Maths' could support teachers in the classroom, particularly in lesson planning and the teaching of grade two Mathematics. The pilot's findings will inform the further development and implementation of the platform to improve numeracy outcomes in Nigerian schools.
The QEDA team believes that the 'Mama Maths' platform has the potential to make a significant impact on Mathematics education in Nigeria. By providing teachers with a powerful tool to identify and address learning gaps, the platform can help improve pupils' understanding and performance in Mathematics. The project's success will depend on its ability to scale up the intervention and sustain its impact over time.
Key points
- QEDA's 'Mama Maths' platform uses AI to support teachers in identifying and addressing pupils' learning gaps in Mathematics.
- The platform provides teachers with a range of features, including lesson planning and step-by-step guides, to ease their workload.
- The pilot project involved six Nigerian schools and focused on grade two pupils, with a broader objective of improving numeracy outcomes through technology-supported teaching and remediation.
