By M. Hamzah Jamaludin

LANCHANG, MALAYSIA - A mini pyramid at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Kaung has helped pupils to improve their performance in Mathematics.

No, it's not because of the legendary "power" of the pyramid; the construction with four different coloured sides is a teaching aid put together by Mathematics teacher Amirul Karamah Kamaruddin two years ago.

She realised it would be easier for pupils to memorise important formulae by associating them with a particular colour.

Related formulae are divided into groups according to colour.

Year Six pupil Mohd Reduan Ahmad Baidi said: "It's a fun way to study as we keep challenging each other to be the first to memorise the formulae written on each pyramid."

Nur Shahili Radzuan said her teacher brought the pyramid into the classroom to explain how the formulae worked.

"When I want to recall a formula, I imagine the pyramid and I can 'see' it on one of the sides."

She is confident that she would score an A in Maths in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) next year.

Amirul said her approach had helped improve the pupils performance in Mathematics. Nearly 80 per cent passed in last year's UPSR, up from 59.4 per cent in 2007.

"I'm confident the percentage will be higher this year as many of our teachers have adopted my approach."

The main pyramid is now housed in a gazebo near the school's resource centre to allow more pupils to use it.