JiJi, The Penguin~ 6 min

Is JiJi male or female?

• JiJi does not have a specific gender so students can assign attributes to JiJi that make sense to them and will support them in their mathematical journey with JiJi. It's okay to have your personal view on JiJi's gender, but please leave it open for students to develop their own views and theories.
• Response to student: What gender do you think JiJi is?

How old is JiJi?

• Similar to gender, students can assign an age to JiJi. For example, some students might want to see JiJi as younger and they need to help JiJi with math. Others might see JiJi as older, teaching and guiding them through math. Some see JiJi as exactly like them, working and learning together.
• Response to student: How old do you think JiJi is?

Who are JiJi’s friends?

• A: One of JiJi’s closest friends is Paco, the tomato. Other friends include: Robot, Pie Monster, Alien, Red Panda, and more.

Why doesn’t JiJi wear clothes?

• JiJi has blubber and feathers that help JiJi stay warm, even in the cold Antarctic weather, so JiJi doesn’t need to wear clothes.

Why can't JiJi jump?

• Although some penguins can jump, JiJi is a special non-jumping penguin species. JiJi needs your help to get past the obstacles on the screen.

What are JiJi postcards?

• Postcards from JiJi will be arriving every month in your email. They'll be full of advice for students and teachers to keep you up-to-date on all things JiJi and ST Math.

With well-designed learning games, students are intrinsically motivated to keep trying. They persist because they are engaged and believe they can succeed - by design, game levels will get more difficult, but always have a possible solution. JiJi becomes the personification of trying. Others may give up when trying to explain something but JiJi never does. JiJi provides helpful feedback no matter how many times you try and has confidence that you can solve the puzzle.

As students persevere in problem solving, they develop a belief in themselves that has powerful effects on learning.

• Confidence in learning
• Perseverance in problem solving
• Increased learning capacity
• Higher achievement

Many teachers have found that the persistence and problem solving that is nurtured by JiJi and ST Math makes a powerful contribution to the entire classroom in other subject areas. It's such a widespread phenomenon that it has a name -- JiJi Culture. When you're ready to learn more about supporting JiJi Culture in your classroom, take a look at the Get the Best Results from ST Math module.