Search Results for: workshop

Making Math with Scratch — Scratch Ed

Scratch Ed, an organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that supports teaching and learning with Scratch, recently profiled some of my work teaching mathematics using Scratch.

The article, Making Math with Scratch, highlights a Math for America workshop I ran for teachers that centered on approaching mathematical concepts through the lens of coding and computer science.  Several projects I use in my classroom are featured, and I also discuss why I like teaching with Scratch and how it’s become a valuable part of my approach to teaching math.

The purpose of the workshop and Patrick’s classroom activities are to demonstrate the power of bringing mathematics and computer science together. “Ultimately the goal is to show how math and computer science are great partners in problem solving. And Scratch provides a terrific platform for that.” 

I’m excited to share the work I’ve been doing with math and Scratch over the past few years–including talks and workshops at conferences like Scratch@MIT, SIAM ED, and the upcoming NCTM Annual meeting–and I really appreciate this nice profile from Scratch Ed.

You can read the full article, Making Math with Scratchat the Scratch Ed website.

2016 — Year in Review

The new year is off to a busy start, and I already feel a bit behind!  But I’m glad that as 2017 starts to unfold, I found some time to reflect on my professional experiences from 2016.

Speaking

I did quite a bit of traveling and speaking this year.  In Kansas City, I gave an invited address at the KC Math Tech Expo titled “Using Mathematics to Create”.  I presented at the inaugural SIAM Conference on Applied Mathematics Education, the 2016 Scratch@MIT conference, and the Teaching Contemporary Mathematics conference at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

In October, I was honored to introduce Henry Segerman’s Math Encounter at the Museum of Mathematics.  I also participated in a panel on Computer Science Education in New York City, and ran a workshop on Desmos at the Math for America offices earlier in the year.

There’s already a lot on the schedule for 2017, but those with speaking inquiries can find out more here.

Writing

I was very proud to have my essay, “I Love Teaching Math, Maybe You Will Too” published in the November, 2016 issue of Math Horizons magazine.  The piece appeared both in print and at the Aftermath editorial website here.

This past year saw another round of media appearances from Andrew Hacker, and the accompanying round of responses from mathematicians and educators.  My contribution was “When it Comes to Math Teaching, Let’s Listen to Math Teachers” for Math for America’s Teacher Voices blog.  I was thrilled with the positive response it received from teachers.

I also continued my work with the New York Times Learning Network, publishing a mathematics lesson tied to the American Statistical Association’s 2016 Election Prediction Contest.

Teaching

As always, I invited my students to create with mathematics and write about their mathematical experiences this past year.  I also continued to integrate mathematics and computer science in my classrooms, something I’ll be doing more of this coming year.  You can find out more about my approach to mathematics and teaching here.

And without a doubt, a highlight of 2016 for me was a surprise visit from New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to our high school graduation ceremony to present me with the Empire State Excellence in Teaching Award.  It was quite a surprise, and quite an honor!

I’m glad to have a productive 2016 behind me, and I’m looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities 2017 will bring.

Related Posts

SIAM ED16

Scratch -- Stacking BlocksHere are some selected links and resources relevant to my workshop “Simulation in Scratch”, given at the SIAM Conference on Applied Mathematics Education (SIAMED16) in October, 2016.

Falling Objects

Basic Simulation — Falling Objects 

Student Project — Lightning Strikes

Random Walks in Scratch

Basic Simulation — Random Walk

Simple 1D Random Walk

Random Walk + Falling Histogram

Monte Carlo Simulations

Basic Monte Carlo Area Approximation

Stacking Blocks

Basic Simulation — Stacking Blocks

Falling Blocks

Student Simulation Projects

Line Segments

Simple Plinko

Falling Blocks

You can contact me here for more information.

Varignon’s Theorem

Varignon’s Theorem is one of my favorite results in elementary geometry:  connect the adjacent midpoints of the four sides of any quadrilateral, and a parallelogram is formed!  It is a magical result that defies expectations, and it’s so much fun to play around with, explore, and extend.

Steven Strogatz shared his favorite proof of Varignon’s Theorem on Twitter yesterday, and so I felt compelled to share mine.  This is a standard proof of Varignon, but it is so clean and elegant:  it is an immediate consequence of the Triangle Midsegment Theorem and the transitivity of parallelism.

Proof of Varignon

Strogatz’s vector proof is beautiful and efficient, but the power of transitivity really shines in this elementary geometric proof.

I created a a simple Desmos demonstration to explore Varignon’s Theorem.  And like all compelling mathematical results, there are so many fascinating follow-up questions to ask!

Related Posts

 

Scratch@MIT 2016

Scratch -- Stacking BlocksHere are some selected links and resources relevant to my workshop “Mathematical Simulation in Scratch”, given at the Scratch@MIT conference in August, 2016.

Falling Objects

Basic Simulation — Falling Objects 

Lightning Strikes

Random Walks in Scratch

Basic Simulation — Random Walk

Simple 1D Random Walk

2D Random Walk — Multiple Walkers

Area Approximations

Monte Carlo Area Approximation

Stacking Blocks

Basic Simulation — Stacking Blocks

Falling Blocks

Student Simulation Projects

Line Segments

Simple Plinko

Falling Blocks

You can contact me here for more information.

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