Math mind hacks: start with answers, ask for problems
Math Mind Hacks is a series of mini-posters about quick, smart activities that grow mathematical minds. Today’s hack is inspired by a story Gregorio Morales told in response to my interview 5-Year-Olds Can Learn Calculus:
I work with children 12-16 years old. My idea is to incorporate creativity in their mathematical works. For example, one of the activities I use is to show a number (for example, 9) as the answer of a problem, and then I ask them for the problem. At first the problems are rather weak: “I have 4 apples and Peter gives me 5 more, how many apples do I have now?” But as the class goes on, some very beautiful problems arise. Maybe another day the number is 259 and they find it harder to come with a nice problem. And another day I go to class with the number 1278513. It’s incredible how many mathematical concepts they are able to invent in order to find a beautiful problem whose answer is my given number.
Posted in Grow
Math Storytelling Day, and math like music and dance: Newsletter August 4
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Hi, I am Moby Snoodles, and this is news about Natural Math.
Send me your questions, comments, and stories of math adventures at moby@moebiusnoodles.com
In this newsletter:
- Math Storytelling Day
- Quick bits from our blog
- 1001 Circles: planning the incubator for math circle leaders
Math Storytelling Day September 25
Back in early June, the Moebius Noodles crew participated in the Maker Faire in Raleigh, NC. We enjoyed coming up with maker-style math adventures. And we’ve seen so much joy from children and adults who made their own mathematics at our booth! That’s why we want to continue that theme: MATH IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.
So we decided to make MAKING our theme for this year’s celebration of Mathematics Storytelling Day, September 25. We are inviting you to join our community of kids and adults from around the world in storytelling, with your story of what you make of mathematics – in pictures or words.
In the spirit of making, with this awesome design by our illustrator Mark Gonyea, we’ll produce a small quantity of Math Maker t-shirts. See the Math Storytelling Day page for details.
Blogs and networks
What if we could learn math like children learn music within a cultural tradition? What if we could learn math by being immersed in meaning and expression from the moment we’re born? These questions come up as Malke Rosenfeld and I watch kids and adults dancing and making music. What do you think?
“Mom, it’s a fractal of square numbers!” – Yelena McManaman and her son invite you to explore multiplication patterns with Perler beads.
Check out this review of traditional, or new and surprising finger tricks for math from Marina Mersenne, including a way to make Fibonacci spirals with hands, and the Official Math Salute. If your kids can’t get enough of these tricks, here is how to count to 99 on your fingers that goes back to the Soroban abacus – with big thanks to Alexander Bogomolny for his photos!
Who is this mystery person? A teacher, a US president, a young kid, or maybe a whole family sharing an account? What is that person’s real grade level in mathematics? Look at the screen capture from a Khan Academy profile, and try to guess by August 10, when we will reveal the answer.
“Really Big Numbers is a small book that can take a long time to read or even look through. It is a chance to learn something new about the really big numbers. But it is also a chance to experience the awe, the mystery and the playfulness of math with your child and as a child.” Read the full review of the new book from the author of “You can count on monsters” posters.
1001 circles incubator
In the last newsletter, we announced plans for a training program for new math circle leaders. The goal for the program members will be to prepare, plan, and run their first circles this fall. The response has been very enthusiastic. We are exchanging letters with prospective members of the math circle incubator. Together, we can create a program that addresses the worries, turns dreams into plans, and makes a difference for the children.
- How can I make it relevant and age-appropriate? What are the kinds of fundamental math concepts kids can pick up from play in math circles? For example, when/how to introduce concepts like operands, calculation, logic, sets, number systems, geometry, logarithms, just to name a few… How to set the stage for kids to make connections? – Rachel R.
- My biggest hope and worry as a math circle leader is to help my kids avoid the trap I fell into. I went to 3rd semester calculus, static/dynamics, and calculus-based physics, before I imploded. I had breezed through high school and the first year of college with little effort for math. I was good at memorization and identifying patterns. I didn’t get the “why” behind any of it and no one seemed to care, as long as the grades were good. Then I hit a wall and didn’t understand why until years later. My fear is that my whole background is in the traditional way of learning math and this path is this muddle in my brain. – Brad S.
- I dream of being an effective guide for the children. I want to spark their curiosity by letting them led their own learning. I want to create an amazing place for children to work and learn and play together. – Darlene L.
- I love the Montessori math materials but would like to add addition opportunities to “play with” and discover the beauty of mathematics. – Janie J.
- My biggest worry is not being able to respond to the groups’ interests in presenting information or provide enough various opportunities of exploring math. My dream is to build up my knowledge and to share that learning adventure with my children and my community. I hope to promote curiosity and joys of learning. – Linley M.
- My greatest hope for being a math circle leader is to learn myself how to think outside of the worksheets, textbooks, and sit at a desk doing math problems mindset! – Rabia H.
Write moby@moebiusnoodles.com if you are interested in participating!
Sharing
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Talk to you soon! Moby Snoodles, aka Dr. Maria Droujkova
Posted in Newsletter
Math Storytelling Day resources
September 25 is Math Storytelling Day! To celebrate that holiday, people tell mathematical stories to friends, family, and the whole internet. September 25 we celebrate pretend-play and traditional wisdom in mathematical stories from all over the world.
Tell the classic, traditional Hotel Infinity story.
Do an ethnomathematics craft, such as traditional sand drawing stories from the Sona tribe.
Tell math anecdotes and jokes, do skits, or post humorous pictures.
Go on scavenger hunts to find math everywhere.
Celebrate with math food.
Read mathematical literature.
Check out past stories bloggers shared about their Math Storytelling Day celebrations!
- All the storytelling posts on Moebius Noodles
- Let’s Play Math 2013
- It’s just math 2013
- ScienceLens 2012
- Minitab 2011
- Math Mama Writes 2010
Found a good math storytelling resource? Drop us a line!
Posted in Make
Math like music
This story is a part of the ongoing conversation about children’s participation in math and the arts with Malke Rosenfeld of Math in Your Feet.
Photo by Kirsty Kelly
What if we could learn math like children learn music within a cultural tradition? What if we could learn math by being immersed in meaning and expression from the moment we’re born?
What does it look like when children fully participate in a culture as persons of recognized value?
Here children provide a high-energy improvised beat for a joyful street performance. The children are at the center of the action, and the adults smile as well as provide visual, gestural and verbal cues to encourage the children.
And here a little dancer’s performance is the heart of flamenco. It is obvious she is steeped in the music. We see the same kinds of encouragements as in the video above: warm smiles and supporting cues.
Alexandra Beller is following intuitive dances of a toddler to compose a profound interpretive piece, Milk Dreams. In our interview (coming up on this blog), Alexandra said:
“When I watch my company doing that material, I am totally transported. It’s a complete other world. I have never experienced anything like that. I can’t speak for a while. It’s a completely different space.”
Those teachers and parents who follow young children’s mathematics also describe how they feel transported to incredible, unexpected Wonderlands. While children take adults on adventures to the new frontiers, adults help to sustain connections to the homeworld. Kids and grown-ups make a great team, together.
Children in the first two videos perform music and dance at very high levels. But the third video shows the same mix of child inspiration and adult support with an obvious beginner: a baby! Children who have been supported that way from a very young age can do amazing music and dance. How do we build or find such a culture of participation and mentorship for children, so they are immersed in amazing mathematics?
Posted in Grow
