Events of 2010

South Bend Community School Corporation Consulting and Professional Development

Jan 4, 2010 – May 13, 2010

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.

South Bend Community School Corporation Consulting and Professional Development

Jan 5, 2010 – Jan 7, 2010

The South Bend Community School Corporation held a Teacher Academy during the 2009 -- 2010 academic year for thirty K-4 teachers. Meeting in groups of ten, teachers spent three full-time two-week sessions discussing classroom management, best practices in instruction, and understanding children from diverse cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. We provided each group of ten teachers with two days on best practices in mathematics instruction.

School City of Mishawaka Consulting and Professional Development

Jan 6, 2010 – Apr 30, 2010

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.

Math and Technology Academy

Jan 10, 2010 – May 28, 2010

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.

SIGMAA on Circles Presentations

Jan 16, 2010

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.

Grissom Middle School Class Presentations

Jan 20, 2010 – Jan 21, 2010

We presented "What is a Mathematician" talks to 7 classes of students at Grissom Middle School.

Mathematical Origami Class

Jan 24, 2010 – May 16, 2010

Adults in this class explore origami polyhedra, tessellations, and other aspects of mathematical origami.

Community Research Project

Jan 24, 2010 – May 16, 2010

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.

Penn Harris Madison Consulting and Professional Development

Jan 28, 2010 – May 15, 2010

Working with administrators and teachers, we examined math curriculum options and shared principles for selecting a high quality math curriculum.

HASTI Popcorn Project Presentation

Feb 5, 2010

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.

HASTI Origami Lessons

Feb 5, 2010

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.

Science Olympiad -- Experimental Design

Feb 13, 2010

High school students competing in Science Olympiad design and carry out experiments to determine what factors are important when trying to create a fair cylindrical die.

Notre Dame Science Fair Judging

Feb 27, 2010

Amanda Serenevy represented the Riverbend Community Math Center as a judge in the elementary division at the Notre Dame Science Fair.

Circle on the Road

Mar 13, 2010 – Mar 15, 2010

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.

Egg Stravaganza

Mar 27, 2010

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.

Notre Dame Expanding Your Horizons Program

Apr 17, 2010

We provided hands on activities for teachers and chaperones to try while the middle-school girls they brought participated in science career workshops.

One Book, One Michiana: To Kill a Mockingbird

Apr 27, 2010

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.

School City of Mishawaka Consulting and Professional Development

May 1, 2010 – Aug 31, 2010

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.

First Fridays -- Kids Night

May 7, 2010

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.

Xavier School of Excellence Professional Development

May 12, 2010

Amanda presented several hands-on math activities and strategies for enhancing math instruction at Xavier School of Excellence.

Math and Technology Academy

Jun 1, 2010 – Aug 31, 2010

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.

IUSB Leadership Academy Orientation

Jun 3, 2010

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.

Ivy Tech Middle School Math Workshop

Jun 7, 2010 – Jun 18, 2010

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.

Math Circle Teacher Training Institute

Jul 4, 2010 – Jul 10, 2010

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.

IUSB Leadership Academy

Jul 12, 2010 – Jul 29, 2010

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.

Apprentice Academy Manufacturing Camp

Jul 22, 2010

We assisted the Apprentice Academy with one afternoon session during their 5 day camp for high school students. During the camp, students were introduced to a variety of technical skills, principles of entrepreneurship, and personal finance. We led plumbing and pipefitting challenges involving accurate measuring and working with fractions.

Art Beat

Aug 28, 2010

Drop by our booth to learn to fold a Sonobe polyhedron or a Magic Pinwheel.

Festival para los que nacimos para triunfar

Aug 29, 2010

Drop by our booth to learn to fold a Sonobe polyhedron or a Magic Pinwheel.

Fermi Math Circle

Sep 1, 2010 – Dec 21, 2010

During this Math Circle, we are working together to create and answer a wide range of Fermi Questions. This program is for students with some knowledge of algebra who have long attention spans and an interest in engaging in mathematical conversation.

School City of Mishawaka Consulting and Professional Development

Sep 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010

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.

South Bend Community School Corporation Consulting and Professional Development

Sep 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010

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.

Math and Technology Academy

Sep 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010

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.

Young Math Circle

Sep 1, 2010 – Dec 21, 2010

During this Math Circle, students spend part of the time tackling brain teasers and math puzzles in groups and part of the time working on a mini-project as a group. We are beginning by investigating several Fermi Questions. This program is for students with an interest in mathematics.

SBCSC Career and Technical Education Math Integration

Sep 7, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010

This math class for students from South Bend Community School Corporation's Culinary Arts and Radio/TV Programs was designed to strengthen math skills needed to pass tests needed to obtain dual credit. The class included weekly hands-on activities designed to show the importance of math in daily life and to improve conceptual understanding of various math concepts. In addition, after-school tutoring and mentoring was provided to those students feeling that they could benefit from extra assistance.

Community Research Project

Sep 12, 2010 – Dec 19, 2010

Each semester, we tackle a community research project and write up our results. This semester we are building a robot and creating a computer program in Java which can work together to solve a Rubik's Cube.

National Math Circle Consulting

Sep 15, 2010 – Dec 15, 2010

Dr. Amanda Serenevy gave several presentations and consultations for members of the national Math Circle Community. These included two Web 2.0 sesions about the Math Circle Institute and about starting a community math center.

Dickinson Intermediate Center Parent Night

Sep 28, 2010

We presented a hands-on math activity for parents and students at Dickinson Intermediate Center and discussed resources for helping students.

St. Pius Class Presentations

Sep 29, 2010 – Dec 15, 2010

In September, Dr. Amanda Serenevy presented interactive talks for six of Mrs. Nyers' science classes at St. Pius on the topic of using graphs to present science project data. She also consulted with students about strengthening their projects to make them more quantitative. In December, Amanda talked with students about their science fair projects. She served as a judge for the St. Pius science fair as well.

First Fridays -- Kids Night

Nov 5, 2010

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.

Consulting with Teacher at Dayton Early College Academy

Dec 3, 2010 – Dec 18, 2010

We consulted by phone and email with Erin Addison at Dayton Early College Academy to discuss activities that would help high school students fill in pre-algebraic skill gaps but still be engaging for older students.