WESTPORT — Twenty-five students from the Macomber Primary School visited New England Aquarium.

But this field trip was a bit different from others — the 25 students earned this trip through participation in a new program called ST Math.

According to a written release from Mass STEM Hub, a program on the One8 Foundation, which organized a statewide participation of elementary schools — “ST Math is a visual instructional program that relies on problem solving to bolster math skills.

“ST Math was developed to be effective and engaging for all students — including English Language Learners, learning disabled and high-achieving students. In ST Math classroom games, students solve visual mathematical puzzles with JiJi — the beloved penguin of ST Math games,” also according to a written release.

Grade 1 teacher Andrew Cottrill noted that all 312 Macomber students have been using the program this year.

Students at the Macomber participated in a JiJi sweepstakes, which is named after the ST program's penguin icon.

Cottrill said that each week students were presented with a challenge such as completing 100 puzzles.

Students who completed these tasks and exhibited growth had their names entered in to win a spot for the aquarium field trip.

“These students participated in games during our pep rally,” Cottrill said. “These students received JiJi swag.”

Macomber and other state students represented 575 state schools, and the timing for developing “JIJI swag” couldn’t come at a better time.

“According to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, less than half of middle school students are proficient in math,” Mass STEM Hub also said in a release. “But, ST math has proven to help students advance in math understanding, achievement and most importantly confidence that they are good at math. ... And their growing understanding shows in state testing scores.”

Over a four-year span, ST Math schools have outranked non-ST Math schools by 7.4 percentile points, according to a written release from Mass STEM Hub.