Developing Our MathMINDs is a series of conversations and resources about math that is intended to be a journey of growth with families over several weeks. Each week, MIND's Lead Mathematician and Product Director Brandon Smith and Content Development Manager Nina Wu will be talking about the adjustments families are making to learning at home, and the opportunities this situation provides for changing our relationship with math.
In this week's Developing Our MathMINDs series, we have multiple ways for families to celebrate math in the world around us.
First up, Nina takes us on a math walk and provides some great examples of mathematical experiences we can have along the way:
There are so many great stories to tell and questions to ask that involve the math in your everyday life. In fact, you could create your own newspaper, and report on what's happening around you, through the lens of math.
In this downloadable example of the "Family Times," intrepid reporter Nina Wu provides the scoop on the news everyone wants to know about. How much screen time are we having each day? How many different kinds of wildlife live in our neighborhood? How many secret ingredients are in grandma's banana bread recipe?
What are some mathematical stories you could report on in your own family newspaper? Download Nina's edition for some great ideas right here!
Our friend Jay Flores from Rockwell Automation is back this week as well. Jay's been doing a series called "It's Not Magic, It's Science" on his social channels, and this past week, he created an installment about math, featuring a cameo from our own JiJi!
In part one, Jay shows us a trick that seems like magic:
Ep 4: It’s Not #Magic It’s #Science! - JiJi Magic with @STMath!
— Jay Flores (@JayFlores2032) May 21, 2020
Can you guess how we did it? Check back in tomorrow for a video revealing the “magic.” #stmath #jijimath #MATHMINDs pic.twitter.com/zKoLcsmICE
But in part two, he pulls the curtain back to explain the math behind it, and challenges families with a problem that builds on the original :
Ep 4.2: It’s Not #Magic It’s #Science! - JiJi Magic with @STMath!
— Jay Flores (@JayFlores2032) May 22, 2020
Can you figure out the answer when we roll 5 🎲?
Try with your family #athome! #mathchallenge #jijimath pic.twitter.com/GVzQs2dQZM
Last week, we talked about the relationship between stories and math that goes well beyond word problems. We shared two of new storybook prototypes so families could experience the story of mathematics in a new way. This week, we're back with two more!
Each story uses real life or historical situations to explore a mathematical concept in a non-typical way. Feel free to pause the story to act out or complete the activity described in the story.
Technical notes: On mobile devices, you may need to turn to landscape to see two page view in full screen. On mobile devices, you may need to reload the story to view it properly.
When you finish a story, please consider taking the survey linked at the end. One of our core values at MIND is continuous improvement; so thank you for helping us make these stories even better for future families. Who knows, your feedback could be incorporated in a new iteration of the digital stories or even a full storybook board game like MathMINDs Games: South of the Sahara.
Brian LeTendre was the Director of Impact Advancement at MIND Research Institute. In addition to building thought leadership and brand awareness for MIND, Brian worked cross-functionally internally and externally to amplify MIND's social impact and accelerate our mission. He is an author, podcaster and avid gamer.
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