What happens when Mardi Nott, Austin High School Math Department Chair, Academic UIL Coordinator, Mu Alpha Theta Sponsor, Calculator Applications Coach, President of Austin Area Council of Mathematics, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Benin ’91-’94), Member of: Delta Kappa Gamma, PEO, and Epsilon Kappa Omicron member brings a group of teachers to MathHappens Headquarters on a Saturday in mid November? They
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2024 Spring Remote Internship: Emma Starkman’s Grade 5 Math Toolkit Model
MathHappens offers remote internship experiences to students who do not live near our offices in Austin. Interns are sent a kit in the mail and the goal is for them to learn digital fabrication of math models (usually using a laser cutter or 3D printer), design and make a model, and host an outreach event showcasing their model(s). Emma Starkman,
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Professional Development: Bullock Field Trip and Workshop Visit
We had a great visit to the Pearl Street workshop and gallery today by professor Dawn Kidd, an Adjunct Instructor at Lamar University. Her students are preservice teachers who will be teaching deaf and hard of hearing students. They started with a workshop visit with Jordan where they learned how to make a heart – square- circle dissection model. Ella
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Teacher PD: Field Trip to the La Belle Exhibit
We are excited to share the MathHappens @ The Bullock field trip collaboration with a cross disciplinary (history and mathematics) teacher team from Killeen ISD. As a history museum and home to La Belle, a French ship that sailed across the Atlantic in the 1600s landing in Matagora Bay off the Texas coast, The Bullock is a perfect place to
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Partner Spotlight: Workshop visit with Kim Kinder from Cuba, MO
Kimberly Kinder is a high school math teacher who is really passionate about bringing new learning experiences for her students. She drove 12 hours to come to Austin because she’s really interested in making some of the models we have and in making her own. We are really excited about supporting her work. Kimberly not only selected some models and
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Take and Make: Tusi couple for a UT Perspectives Class
The Tusi couple is a mathematical device in which a small circle rotates inside a larger circle twice the diameter of the smaller circle. With this relationship of diameters, each point on the circumference of the smaller circle actually follows a linear path as the rotation occurs. Here’s a link to a video so you can see it in motion. Files to
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Partnerships: JRMF and Breakthrough Central Texas
A benefit to collaboration is the sharing of success. As a provider of supplementary mathematics learning experiences, we have been in contact with Breakthrough Central Texas, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary for many years. This past year we were able to connect them with Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Director Daniel Kline who provided opportunities for staff training and previews of
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Maker Math for Educators–Article Published!
Congratulations to Jason Harron, professor at Kennesaw State University and colleagues for publishing a paper based on an inservice teacher workshop called Maker Math: Exploring Mathematics through Digitally Fabricated Tools with K–12 In-Service Teachers. MathHappens Foundation provided many but not all of the models used in the workshop and discussed in the article and we really appreciate the author credit. Jason is
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An Interactive Cross Disciplinary Mathematics Museum for Austin!
Let’s continue the tradition of service to education, support our students and learners of all ages in mathematics by offering free learning resources to the Austin community, support cross disciplinary programs, create and use hands on interactive models. A great opportunity is on the table. The Pease School opened in 1876 and served Austin as an elementary school for 144
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Crafting Conic Sections with MTCA – Dec. 2 Math Teacher’s Circle of Austin
Teachers enjoy models and making and they take that enthusiasm and activity back to their students. Hosted by Professor Jennifer Austin of University of Texas at Austin, this was a particularly fun meeting. We discussed how we make these models – see MAA Horizon Do the Math Article , tried using paper templates and slicing into playdoh. See Take and
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