Personal Narrative: White House Math Initiative

Van de Walle, J, Karp, K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2015). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally. (9th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.

Mathematical Genius Community (MAGIC) managing a math competition biweekly, mainly for third graders to eighth graders attending the Young Explorers School. In these competitions, math concepts (algebra, geometry, probability, number sense, and counting) will be covered in order to enrich the student's knowledge. The competitions will be free of cost. Our main goal is for children to expand their mathematical knowledge through competition. We will host an individual test taken by everyone. Then, students will be placed in groups based on their score to take team tests. The testing portion of the competition will take around two hours with short breaks in between the

You need to be able to use different strategies and resources in order to develop mathematical skills in young children, you can do this through focused activities as well as using the learning environment to stimulate children’s learning.

"I felt a little lost between the blue and white of the sky and the monotony of the colors around me—the sticky black of the tar, the dull black of all the clothes, and the shiny black of the hearse. All of it—the sun, the smell of leather and horse dung from the hearse, the smell of varnish and incense, and my fatigue after a night without sleep—was making it hard for me to see or think straight." –Albert Camus, The Stranger

Julia Bowman Robinson was an esteemed mathematician who was highly praised for her immense contributions to the mathematical community. Even though she grew up during a time when women’s suffrage and rights had just become publically recognize within the United States, she would still go on to become one of the most prestigious mathematicians of her generation, and arguably, of history overall. Being the first women to ever serve on the mathematical section of the National Academy of Sciences as well as being the first ever women to be elected to become president of the American Mathematical Society (Feuerman, 1994), she never fell short of performing feats to which many never thought they would ever see.

Nancy feel incredibly fortunate to have played with and solved mathematical problems with her father and taken Donald Knuth's class in Concrete Mathematics, from which she became aware that it was more fun to learn by discovery than to be told how to solve problems and just to apply a formula. To inspire students to explore the richness and beauty of mathematics, Nancy founded the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (jrmf.org).

It will be argued that my position of using an outdoor setting to support children’s learning in Mathematics, specifically to achieve mastery

Problem Solving, Numeracy and Reasoning: Helping to expand their knowledge of problem solving using stories, games, role play, singing and games. Making the child feel easy talking about and understanding the language of reasoning and problem solving.

Children at this age also have different skills related to numeracy. Fostering numeracy skills in early childhood education not only predicts for later Math achievement but also for greater literacy skills (NAEYC, 2009). Since mathematical concepts are often intertwined with so many areas such as science, literacy, dramatic play, block building, and more, math learning centers offering interdisciplinary materials and activities ensure that young children grow to understand and appreciate the real life applications of mathematical concepts (Fu, 2010).

dedicated to a single activity. Students are led in their exploration by a facilitator, a

As the focus of math changes students are asked to develop their mathematical thinking rather than their calculating. “While math traditionalist are correct that it is beneficial to memorize formulas, facts, and algorithms, the math reformists emphasize the need for students to have avenues such as journals, portfolios, or projects to demonstrate their understanding” (Kostos & Shin 2010). In math it is difficult to encourage students to think critically when many students, teachers, and administrators are drawn to the idea of right verse wrong. In mathmatics many hold tight to the idea that there is one correct answer and one way to get to the correct answer and that’s it; parents and teachers were taught mathematics just like this. Now with the focus changing we have students who are challenged to look at math differently. The focus of looking at mathematics as critical thinking, number manipulation, reflection and strategy has been hard for many to grasp. It is important that students are challenged to critically think and problem solve so they are capable of transferring their learning to new and different situations. Students must have the ability to problem solve and apply their thinking because as our world changes and technology gets more advanced we can no longer predict the situations our students will be in. Teachers must encourage critical thinking, so students are ready to enter an ever-changing

For my mathematical interview I interviewed Gracie, a third grade student. She is eight years old, and loves shopkins, makeup, and fashion. Her best friends are Olivia, Charlotte, and Ava. In Gracie’s free time she enjoys going to dance class and singing. After I learned more about her, I asked Gracie what she was learning in math. She told me they were working on multiplication, and she was working on her two’s. Gracie then sang me her math rap, which she loved because singing is one of her favorite hobbies.

students eyes to a world of mathematics that they never before could have even began to

Unlike most other math events for kids, our focus is on creating a collaborative, non-competitive atmosphere to explore the joys and power of math. We use mathematicians to guide young peoples’ experience. As you know, JRMF is named after a female mathematician, Julia Robinson, and 30-50% of our festival attendees are girls. Our goal is to reach a diverse audience to broaden society’s appreciation and support of math.

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.