ADAMS TOWNSHIP — Clinton-Massie Elementary School recently hosted math guru Dr. Raj Shah, Ph.D. with the Math Plus Academy in Columbus, for a full day of exciting math learning opportunities for students.
Teachers also had an opportunity to learn with Dr. Shah during their afternoon professional development session on the same day.
Students in first through fifth grade participated in several math challenges throughout the day with their teachers and Dr. Shah. Students explored number patterns, function machines, hexaflexagons, ultimate tic-tac-toe, and other fun math activities.
According to Elementary Principal Jen Updike, the math activities tie in with the school’s focus on “Mathematical Mindset” initiatives that began during the 2016-2017 school-year and the focus on a “Growth Mindset” this school year.
“Some of the key points for the day were that math is an adventure and games are human nature, so math games can be a great way for students to learn,” Updike said.
This reinforces the growth-mindset concept that making mistakes is acceptable while students learn.
Math games can be fun and if fair, they provide students with hope and success while they achieve better understanding and learning.
Teachers also learned the importance of descriptive feedback to provide students with better direction in the learning process.
The full day of math opportunities and professional development was a significant accomplishment and many contributed to the planning and success of the events. Gifted Intervention Specialist Jen Molitor played a key role in planning and coordination, while the entire staff planned and participated in the activities throughout the day.
The CM Elementary Parent Teacher Organization provided funding for the student portion of the math activities.
Volunteers providing help included Lorry Swindler, Natalie Pittser, Velvet Bennett, Jen Brown and others.
And oh, by the way, a hexaflexagon is a flexagon made by folding a strip into adjacent equilateral triangles. A flexagon is an object created by folding a piece of paper along certain lines to form loops. By manipulating the folds, it is possible to hide and reveal different faces.
This news release was provided by Dann Sternsher, communication specialist, Clinton-Massie Local Schools.
