Working with administrators, curriculum leaders,
and teachers, we identified ways to strengthen
math instruction for students at many Title 1
Primary Centers in South Bend.
Working with administrators and teachers, we supported the
implementation of a new math program for high-ability students in
4th through 6th grades at all seven elementary schools. We also
worked with John Young Middle School teachers to examine math
instruction at the middle school level.
The Math and Technology Academy is a free program open to the
public. Students of all ages can get help with homework, work on
a guided independent study project, or try one of our hands-on
math activities.
As an active member of the national SIGMAA on Math Circles, we
presented two activities as part of the session at the Joint Math
Meetings in San Francisco. About 30 students and adults participated
in our One-Cut Theorem and Sona Designs activities.
Each semester, we tackle a community research project and write
up our results. This semester we are investigating different
bases, including fractional bases, using Jim Tanton's exploding
boxes approach.
Stop by the NISMEC booth or the Mathematical Origami workshop at the
Hoosier Association for Science Teachers Conference. Learn to fold
magic pinwheels, Sonobe polyhedra, hyperbolic paraboloids, PHiZZ
polyhedra, and other origami structures.
Try a hands-on math and science activity that can be used in middle
school classrooms to address several state math and science
standards. In this activity, students estimate what it would take to
fill their classroom with popcorn.
We participated in "Circle on the Road", a national Math Circle
conference organized by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
in Tempe Arizona. The event opened with a Julie Robinson Mathematics
Festival. Amanda taught participants to fold hyperbolic paraboloids
and discussed related concepts in geometric topology as well as open
problems. The other two days featured presentations by Math Circle
leaders from around the country as well as opportunities to network.
Amanda served on a panel about choosing appropriate topics as well
as a panel about promoting diversity among participants of math
outreach programs.
We participated in Downtown South Bend Inc's Egg Stravaganza by
producing a challenging Math Trail and by recruiting the IUSB
Physics Club to lead an Egg Drop.
We provided hands on activities for teachers and chaperones to try
while the middle-school girls they brought participated in science
career workshops.
The St. Joseph County Public Library organized a series of community
events relating to the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". We participated
by teaching children to fold mockingbirds during this event.
Downtown South Bend, Incorporated sponsors a series of First Friday
events in downtown South Bend to highlight local businesses and
bring people together. November's event offered fun activities for
families with children. We participated by teaching modular origami
at Spark Fine Stationary on Michigan Street.
The Math and Technology Academy is a free program open to the
public. Students of all ages can get help with homework, work on
a guided independent study project, or try one of our hands-on
math activities.
During the IUSB Leadership Academy Orientation we taught two
hands-on math activities to about 25 high school and entering
college students. Participants chose to investigate algebraic
patterns in families of polyhedra or to derive the formula for
regular polygons on the way to learning to build a Magic Pinwheel.
Math teachers from each of the ten intermediate centers in South
Bend Community School Corporation participated in two one-week
workshops at Ivy Tech Community College. The overall themes of the
workshop were project-based learning, innovative approaches to
problem solving, and incorporating technology in the middle school
classroom.
About 25 mathematicians, teachers, and other math enthusiasts from
around the country paticipated in this week-long institute at Notre
Dame led by Bob and Ellen Kaplan with assistance from Amanda
Serenevy and Leo Goldmakher. Participants experienced Math Circles
as students, shared ideas for starting Math Circles, led Math
Circles for children, and delved into a number of engaging
mathematical questions.
The IUSB Leadership Academy is a two-month summer program for high
school and entering college students. During the program, students
take several classes designed to prepare them for college. We
offered a math class for eleven of the high school students. Each
105-minute class included review of pre-algebra and algebra concepts
and a hands-on activity designed to show them how some of these
concepts apply to the real world. Students completed daily homework
assignments, quizzes twice a week, and took a pre-test and post-test
to chart their improvement over the three-week (twelve-session) program.
