COMAP Exploring Math Modeling in and Outside of the Classroom Webinar Series #2
The Introduction to Math Modeling Webinar Series is a series of 6 - 7 free webinars organized by COMAP held from October 2020 through May 2021. The goal of the webinar series is to promote student and teacher engagement in mathematical modeling in the classroom and through participation in math modeling contests such as HiMCM and MCM/ICM. The webinars are led by classroom teachers, professors and mathematicians. These experts hope to demonstrate how math modeling can be used to foster mathematical curiosity and engage students in real world problem solving. This engagement can serve to promote student agency and help students see themselves as learners and doers of mathematics.
Webinar #2
Modeling with Context: Authentic Problems to Foster a Modeling Mindset
Introduce students to the modeling process through problems that have relevance and meaning in their own lives. Students will engage more deeply with a real-world problem if they have a voice in how it is resolved, and the modeling process empowers students who are also stakeholders.
In this session, we will look at a selection of modeling problems that arose from local issues or needs, and we will discuss strategies for identifying local problems that lend themselves to a modeling approach. We will step into the modeling process with a scaffolded approach to incorporating modeling into the classroom, and specific examples will include, among others, the following real problems: As our school population increases, how can we optimize the lunch lines? How can our parking lot be redesigned to accommodate more vehicles?
Join us to explore the modeling process through the lens of local problems, and learn how to identify problems that are meaningful to the students who solve them.
Panelist:
Maria Hernandez, Retired Math Teacher @ The NC School of Science and Mathematics
Greta Mills, Mathematics Department Chair @ Oxbridge Academy
The shared hope and vision of the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is that this report motivates the educational community to make a place for mathematical modeling in curriculum, from pre-K through undergraduate levels. Further, that the value and importance of the skills required to execute math modeling effectively - logical thinking, problem solving, sensitivity analysis, and communication to name a few - are recognized and nurtured.
