By the numbers;
Area students dig into math during East Holmes Math Enrichment Day
By Dave Mast
May 16, 2011
285
Solving real-world issues through the benefit of mathematics was on display recently during Tri-County Educational Service Centers Math Enrichment Day, and while maybe not all of the answers were found, just the act of putting effort into it was what was important.
Math Enrichment Day, whose fifth and sixth-grade participants are chosen on their state achievement test scores, convened at Chestnut Ridge Elementary on Wednesday, May 11. There, the students sharpened their pencils along with their minds, and dug into solving some pretty complicated problems designed for the junior high grade level.
According to Carrie Meek, a math consultant from the Canton City School District, who was on hand to guide the students through their efforts, the event is designed to be both challenging and fun for the students, and the day is a reward for their work on developing their math skills.
I serve as a math consultant in several different school districts, and when I was invited down to Holmes County to serve in this, I jumped at the chance, said Meek. This is a real celebration for the kids, and it is a time when they can learn to work together as a team while improving their own math skills. The kids have really done a phenomenal job today, far better than I could have hoped.
The problem solving issues that students from Berlin, Wise, Mt. Hope, Winesburg and Walnut Creek elementary schools faced were one of three scenarios. The first one had students trying to figure out where the best fishing would be based on calculations on weather patterns, temperatures, depth of the water, time of day, phases of the moon and other pertinent information.
The second challenge was based on how to develop and maintain a T-shirt company business, and focused on cost calculations and profitability. The third was finding the most economical way to take a trip to New York City, figuring in transportation, accommodations and other expenses.
The strategies, designed for middle school math, were not run-of-the-mill math problems, but Meek said that they tried to create something that would be both challenging and fun.
We took a look at the standards for fifth and sixth-grade students and tried to kick it up a notch, said Meek. We wanted to create a scenario in which the problems would be hard enough that the kids would have to rely on each other to find the answers, said Meek. We told them that if they couldnt solve all of the problems, that was OK. We just want them to try their best.
In addition to the main problem solving tests, there were also a number of math riddles at each station, which the students could try to solve once they were finished.
Once the students completed their task, they were asked to share what they found, and how they went about calculating their answers, with the rest of the students.
Meek said it was neat to see the students discussing how they felt they should go about the task of finding an answer, and said that kind of interaction helps build growth, a spirit of unity and self-esteem.
All over the gym you hear students saying, How did you get that or That isnt how I did it, said Meek. Then they would talk things out, recalculate and cooperate in finding the correct answer together. It is a wonderful way to get kids to feel good about math.
Karen Burkett, gifted and talented coordinator for the Tri-County Educational Service Center, said that Meek was duly impressed with the effort and skills of the East Holmes math students.
The kids had gone a long way already by lunch, said Burkett. Considering that these were middle school level problems, Carrie was very pleased and quite impressed. This is always such a fun day, and such a good learning experience for the students, and we do appreciate Chestnut Ridge and East Holmes Schools for giving the kids this kind of an opportunity to further their learning.
