Connecting the Dots in Mathematics

About Course

Most students learn mathematics as a set of procedures to memorise. This course takes a completely different approach: start with a simple pattern of numbers, build up the skills to analyse it, and discover that you’ve just learned to explain how populations grow, how bank accounts compound, why diseases spread the way they do, and why some systems tip into chaos.

Connecting the Dots in Mathematics is a 5-session course for students in Grades 5–6 who have been identified as high-potential through the ASSET Talent Search. Students build skills step by step — from spotting patterns to graphing sequences to constructing their own mathematical models in Google Sheets. By the end, they’ll have used spreadsheets to model real-world growth, discovered that the same mathematics describes phenomena across biology, economics, and technology, and learned to question the stories that numbers are used to tell.

A laptop or computer with Google Sheets access is required — students will build their own models and experiment with them live.

What you will learn

• Spot, extend, and write formulas for number sequences — linear, polynomial, and exponential
• Understand rate of change and percentage change — the foundational ideas behind calculus, introduced through real examples
• Build mathematical models in Google Sheets and use them to explore “what if?” scenarios
• See how the same growth mathematics applies to populations, compound interest, disease spread, and technology adoption
• Discover feedback loops and S-curves — why things grow fast, slow down, and sometimes behave unpredictably
• Question real-world narratives using data and mathematical reasoning

Instructor: Dr. Siddharth Bharath, Director of Online Programs, GenWise (PhD, Ecology, University of Minnesota)

Format: 5 sessions, live on Zoom, over two weekends. ~90 minutes each. May 2026.

Group size: Small cohort (max 15 students)

Requirements: A laptop or computer with Google Sheets access (not a tablet)

Price: ₹4,900 — use code ATS2026 at checkout for 20% off (₹3,920)