by Donna Iadipaolo
MATHCOUNTS IS A popular extra-curricular activity for mathematically-inclined, or numerically curious, middle school students. Students from Clague, Slauson, Tappan, Emerson, Forsythe, Saline Middle Schools, and other 6-8th graders in the Ann Arbor-area, participate in this club which meet regularly. Four from each school’s team are picked for a competition held each Feb.
MathCounts is a national program, started about 30 years ago, designed to foster math skills among students across the United States. The focus of the program is on middle school students, which is a particularly important time for students sustaining their mathematical ability, confidence, interest. The program focuses on strong problem-solving, logical thinking and analytical abilities. These skills are vital for high-demand jobs in medical, scientific, mathematical, technical and engineering fields.
National sponsors of MathCounts include the National Society of Professional Engineers, Phillips 66, Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, U.S. Department of Education, Art of Problem Solving, CNA, and Next Thought.
At Forsythe Middle School, the program is facilitated by a faculty member from the School of Education at the University of Michigan, with assistance of volunteer graduate students and parents.
“My husband, Patricio Herbst, was coach at Forsythe when my daughter was in middle school. I helped a couple of times,” according to Vilma Mesa, an Associate Professor in the School of Education in Math Education at the University of Michigan. “When my son started middle school, I decided to help him run the program. I have been doing this for four years now.”
Patricio Herbst is also a professor in the U-M School of Education in Math Education. Their son graduated on to Skyline this year, but Mesa has continued to lead the program at Forsythe, with some select U-M Ph.D. students.
This year, the Forsythe team expanded to up to 20 participants. Part of this may be due to the start-of-the-year advertising done year to promote the MathCounts club to a wider audience. The Forsythe team is this year is also very diverse, including students from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, and promotes female participants as well. Women are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.
Mesa added that the purpose of MathCounts is not just about getting better at math, but to have some enjoyment in the process and to “get students excited about mathematics.”
“The program opens the opportunity for students to work on math problems that are different from the school math problems,” said Mesa. “It shows some of the fun side of mathematics.”
All of the problems on which students work are real-world, giving them a context that is familiar to their lives. The problems also have a playful and recreational bent to them. Students often view the problems as challenges such as puzzles, rather than conundrums.
Furthermore, students are allowed to work independently if they choose, or “get to share ideas with others about solving problems.” In one session, students were intrigued with various ways to approach a particular problem by multiple possibilities. Some used a strict symbolically algebraic approach, others used a guess and check avenue, and still others developed their own unique method with original graphical representation.
All the grade levels in middle school tackle the same challenges.
“It also has multiple entry levels, from 6th to 8th grade, there is a problem for everyone,” according to Mesa. “Most students who choose engineering, science, technology, and math careers take part in MathCounts.”
Mesa stressed that the MathCounts program did not grow out of an outreach from the University of Michigan School of Education, as much as a personal connection for she and Herbst.
“My husband and I got involved because we wanted for our children to have more fun with math problems. It is a good opportunity to serve the community,” said Mesa. “It was not a decision of the School of Education or of U-M. Other middle schools have a MathCounts club run by a math teacher. Our program is run by parents or former Forsythe parents.”
Still, the connections that Mesa had with U-M allowed her to engage U-M students.
“I invited graduate students in the mathematics education program because it gives them an opportunity to spend time with students, and see student mathematical thinking in action: it is difficult when you only read about these things in articles; and they also miss teaching. In prior years we also invited undergraduate mathematics students….”
University of Michigan Ph.D. students who help this year were Minsung Kwon, Jill Mortimer, and Kolby Gadd. Mothers who helped similarly this year included Aekta Raglan and Aparna Prasanna.
Mesa is also unique in her coaching of the Forsythe team in that she emphasizes the joy of learning mathematics and doing the problem, over the performance at the yearly tournament or winning.
“I do not emphasize the competitive aspect of the program, other schools do,” divulged Mesa. “I am not that interested in winning, rather I am interested in students seeing math on their own terms, and learning to explain their thinking to others. I also like that students socialize during the sessions. I think that having a space to socialize around mathematics is important. We rarely see students having a blast while solving math problems. Also we learn new things. I think this year the emphasis on the Pythagorean Theorem has been such that I think most students know it well by now….”
Parents with various backgrounds have also been instrumental in helping with MathCounts, historically.
“With the problems, with copies, with supplies, with snacks, taking students to and from the competition, and carpooling,” describe the help by parents, according to Mesa. “It is a great help. The school also gives us the space which is huge. The PTSO pays for the registration (for the competition).”
Mesa hinted that she may just continue with the program, despite no longer having a child at Forsythe in the program, because it is a kind of labor of love.
“I enjoy doing this work, so if other parents want to help out and take the program further, I will be happy to step down,” stated Mesa. “It is fun.”
Most of the MathCounts coaches at other schools are middle school teachers or parents.
Susan Sullivan is the Math Counts coach at Tappan Middle School. She is a math teacher and certified in secondary mathematics.
“I took over the club this year,” said Sullivan. “I teach 8th grade math and had more time this year for taking on clubs and other activities.”
Sullivan explained that she enjoys the enthusiasm of the students, as well as their perspectives.
“Students in MathCounts are energetic and want to talk about why certain shortcuts exist and how math works, I enjoy their questions,” stated Sullivan. “I always feel energized after the club is over.”
While Sullivan has not yet taken her students to any competitions, Tappan’s team participated in the State competition.
“I have not been in charge of the club before,” said Sullivan. “I do know that one of our 8th graders went to the state competition last year. We are hoping he is as successful this year.”
Sullivan is thinking of ways to expand the program for next year already.
“As I work with MathCounts students more, I realize other things we could be doing to attract more students,” explained Sullivan. “There is a strong sense of camaraderie that comes from having to think fast and find new ways to make complicated problems easier to do. I want to see more students join the club and feel that tickle of delight that comes when you figure something out that seemed impossible.”
Kim Gall has been coaching MathCounts at Saline Middle School for ten years now. She is also the 8th grade math teacher at the school. Many times, her students have won the February competition and go on to the State completion as well.
“The years we have won the local competition and moved on to the State competition, we have had a group of students in MathCounts who have spent a lot of time researching and learning math outside of school throughout their childhoods,” explained Gall. “These kids just soak up every tiny detail and are so motivated by the ideas, they seek out additional learning. I am amazed each year at the amazing abilities of the students in MathCounts and I often find myself learning from them.”
Similar to what the other schools do, Gall has her students spend time working on the problems each week when they meet.
“At our weekly meetings, we focus on how we got the answers to problems that are provided by the MathCounts Program,” said Gall. “We simply work through problems as a group—with the opportunity to work independently—to arrive at an answer, but the real learning happens when we take the time to each present the different ways we thought about the problem. The students consistently amaze me at how they work through complex problems.”
Gall describes her group of MathCounts students as fairly diverse in composition as well.
“The group is nearly perfectly a 1/3 6th graders, 7th graders and 8th graders,” she stated. “There are more males than females this year, but we are close to even.”
Professors, Ph.D.s, teacher, parents, and students for across the Ann Arbor-area all agree there is something positive to be gained each week from MathCounts.
Students bolster their mathematical ingenuity and creativity by solving word problems in groups or individually.
“From what I see, students who already enjoy mathematics, now have an environment to work with a group of students from all different grades and levels who share an appreciation of the subject,” said Gall. “They get to learn from each other, while also growing in their ability to explain their mathematical ideas. They also love being able to recognize concepts they have learned in MathCounts showing up in their school math course.”
Full disclosure: Donna Iadipaolo is a Forsythe middle schooler mother and a State of Michigan secondary math teacher. Iadipaolo volunteered with MathCounts this year, facilitating problem-solving and contributing snacks.
