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Travelers Rest High School students practice Euler\u2019s Formula using marshmallows during a recent Math Fair with Furman University students at the Travelers Rest High media center.<\/p><\/div>\n
Some students enrolled in Finite Mathematics (MTH 110) are nervous about taking math classes at Furman, often due to previous struggles with mathematics in high school, explained Math Professor John Harris.<\/p>\n
Hawthorne and Harris challenged students to work in groups, selecting topics and then becoming \u201cexperts\u201d on those topics. Teams created posters and shared their research through brief presentations and small group activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to introduce them to some interesting mathematical ideas, help to develop their critical thinking skills, increase their appreciation for mathematics in general, and build (and repair) their confidence in their own abilities,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n
Anna Hoffman \u201919, Tim Nutter \u201917 and Sheldon Roper \u201917 chose knots and links as the topic of their project, then pondered how they could make the subject interesting for high school students.<\/p>\n
Their answer came from a \u201chuman knot,\u201d a common team-building activity that allowed every group of high schoolers coming by to get involved in the group\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2022\/08\/Math-Fair-1-001.jpg\")
Travelers Rest High School students attempt to untangle their human knot as part of an interactive math project with Furman students Anna Hoffman \u201919, Tim Nutter \u201917 and Sheldon Roper \u201917.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe wanted to answer the question of how this would benefit a person in real life,\u201d said Hoffman, a communication studies major from Atlanta. \u201cI did not expect students\u2019 responses to be this positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travelers Rest High School teacher Rick Veazey brought students in his probability and statistics classes to the Math Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a good idea,\u201d Veazey said. \u201cThese are topics that many of my students have never seen before and they\u2019re learning from students who aren\u2019t math majors. It\u2019s good for them to know that college math is not just a rehash of what they\u2019ve done in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the 18 students in Hawthorne\u2019s Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers I class (MTH 301), their trip to Summit Drive Elementary was a preview of what they will be doing on a daily basis as future educators. Student projects ranged from activities teaching place value systems with Mayan numbers to mathematically determining combinations with teddy bears.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring planning, I encouraged students to think about the mathematics in more conceptual ways, helping them to plan for activities that went beyond procedures that got answers and truly engaged children in mathematical thinking,\u201d said Hawthorne. \u201cWith parents participating, I hope Furman students would see parents as a critical part of the learning process and as such might reflect on ways they can productively incorporate them in their planning and instruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a whole night devoted to mathematics in a positive light really celebrates mathematics and mathematical thinking,\u201d said Hawthorne, who is planning a second Math Night at Summit Drive Elementary with MTH 301 students next spring.<\/p>\n