Author(s):
Authors. Emily Atieh, Jan Cannizzo, and Andrey Nikolaev; Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract. We report findings from the implementation and study of a community engagement program that brings together three parties—math faculty, STEM undergraduates, and community partners—to organize math circles for K-12 students. As part of the program, undergraduates enroll in a three-credit course in which they learn about community engagement and extracurricular mathematics, lead math circles at community partner sites, and engage in weekly reflections about their experiences.
Need: The project motivates undergraduates to think about mathematics and its benefits to society more broadly, and to take an active role in educating youth. It also puts into practice a novel approach to organizing math circles, which are traditionally led by professional mathematicians.
Guiding Question: We are interested in understanding how undergraduates engage math circle participants; the skills they feel they have gained and how these relate to and shape their future goals; and how undergraduates view the role of math in society in light of their activities. Data is collected via course artifacts (such as assignments and surveys), repeated math circle observations, and end-of-semester interviews.
Outcomes: Preliminary findings suggest that the manner in which undergraduates engage their students is context-dependent, though some patterns did emerge. Notably, there are key differences between what undergraduates think they do to help math circle participants learn and what they are observed to be doing. Nearly all undergraduates said they honed skills that could be useful for their future careers or life in general, including communication and interpersonal skills, as well as developing more empathy and patience. Several also stated that the ways in which they view and understand mathematics had shifted as a result of the program.
Broader Impacts: Our project implements and researches a model for organizing undergraduate-led math circles that benefits K-12 students, many of whom come from low to middle-income families, while offering a unique educational experience to STEM undergraduates. It has the potential to be adopted more widely by other universities and therefore to provide a new avenue for increasing the number of math circles in the United States.
This work is supported by NSF-IUSE Grant No. 2236229.
Coauthors
Emily Atieh, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ; Andrey Nikolaev, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
