Math Cafe
Math Cafe is an informal discussion with leaders in the fields of mathematics and mathematics education. You can meet these leaders face-to-face or online, ask questions, and chat with other participants.
If you are in the Raleigh-Durham area, NC, join us for some tea on February 18th at 6 pm EST at Cafe Carolina on 137 Weston Parkway, Cary. Bring a device to participate in text chat. If you are elsewhere, grab a cup and a cookie and join us online. If you want, get together with friends and family for your own local chat. We will do a short sweet presentation on the surprising and wild science behind multiplication. Then we’ll answer questions from online and local participants – while you informally discuss the ideas.
Registration is free and open: your entry ticket is a question about multiplication. Register now!
Want to invite Facebook friends? Here is the event!
At the time of the event, come to this page for an embedded video stream and live chat, or use Twitter hashtag #MathCafe to participate.
Description of the first Math Cafe: What is multiplication?
What is multiplication? Well, it’s when you multiply one number by another number. Hmm, that doesn’t sound very helpful, does it? What does it mean to multiply a number by another number? Your child’s experience with multiplication will depend on the answer (or several) you have to this question. It will also determine where you will look for examples of multiplication – multiplication tables, a mirror, your child’s drawings, a stroll around your neighborhood… And researchers suspect that early experiences with multiplication (or lack of them) largely determine the future success with all math and science. That’s because multiplication is the cornerstone of algebra.
How will learning these critical concepts fit your and your children’s day-to-day activities? And how will it help enrich your and your children’s relationship with mathematics? We will discuss these and other questions in our upcoming Math Cafe.
It is open for sign-up now. Even if you can’t attend, sign up anyway, and we will send you the recording. Ask us your question, tell us your or your child’s multiplication story, share your successes or concerns. The power to shape you child’s view of mathematics is in your hands – and it all starts with asking questions!
What do you think of defining multiplication as the area of a rectangle?
The Math Cafe is a wonderful idea!
Once I visited a master teacher who worked with kids with special needs and she said that multiplication comes before addition because of the patterns. Also music and sound (like clapping with patterns) and body movements can work beautifully with multiplication.
Multiplication was our first cafe and we really like it. Are going to have another one in March?
Gail, thank you! We fully intended to have a Math Cafe in March, April, and so on, but then my interview at The Atlantic led to much more follow-up work than we anticipated. I hope to go back to the idea of Math Cafes in the Summer or Fall!