Dispatches from the Circles

Local updates from across the country

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California

In October, Math Teacher Circle leaders from across Southern California met to share their experience and ideas for possible collaborations. Hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, and sponsored by AIM, the group shared sample activities, described strategies for outreach among teachers, sources of support, and the design of intensive workshops. Leaders discussed possibly attending or leading workshops at other sites, and agreed to meet again in the spring semester to plan in further detail.

– Contributed by Sharon Lanaghan

Stephanie Molina and Jeremy Aikin, co-leaders of the Inland Empire MTC, gave a 75-minute presentation at the NSF-Noyce Summit in Washington D.C. in July. The presentation was focused on involving NSF-Noyce Scholars in the organization of a Math Teachers’ Circle. For the presentation, Stephanie and Jeremy co-facilitated a sample MTC session on the geometry of Spot It! and SET.

– Contributed by Cory Johnson

Illinois

Southwest Chicago MTC co-leader Dr. Angela Antonou will be presenting “Impact of the Southwest Chicago Math Teachers’ Circle on the Disposition of Teachers Toward Mathematics and Toward the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in January 2017 in Atlanta, GA. In addition, planning is in progress for additional presentations at the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America in April, 2017 and at the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences (ACMS) Biennial Conference in late May/early June of 2017 in South Carolina.

– Contributed by Kristen Schreck

North Carolina

The Blue Ridge MTC met three times this year in various locations, including at the Asheville Art Museum and the Downtown Book Exchange. The Circle plans to meet three more times in the spring, and to do an escape room puzzle together in February.

– Contributed by Meghan Boutwell

On November 9, an article about the Triangle MTC, titled “The Math Circle is Back,” appeared on the cover of The Chapel Hill News.

– Contributed by Hector Rosario

Ohio

This fall, the Crooked River MTC was featured in the Number Notes newsletter of the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (GCCTM). Crooked River MTC leaders also ran a sample Math Teachers’ Circle session at the GCCTM’s September 17 kick-off meeting.

– Contributed by Sara Good

South Carolina

Coastal Carolina MTC co-leaders Anne Ho and Tara Craig will be presenting “Triangles, Squares, and Segregation: Introducing social issues through math” at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in January 2017. Ho and Craig adapted “Parable of the Polygons” (Vi Hart and Nicky Case), an online simulation on diversity and segregation, into a math circle session, which ran at the Coastal Carolina University MTC in December. The session is interactive, and offers multiple layers of content depending on the age and comfort level of participants with conversations on social issues. These levels include: (1) a basic introduction to game theory, (2) an invitation for participants to think about the benefits of diverse groups, and (3) a discussion of how individual biases can lead to detrimental societal effects.

– Contributed by Anne Ho

This article originally appeared in the Winter/Spring 2017 MTCircular.

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