An ancient math text? (Source: http://bit.ly/1Qa42N8)This just in from Mrs. Hill!
It has long been a subject of debate among mathematics historians whether Isaac Newton or Gottfried Leibniz first invented calculus. It turns out that they both may have been beaten to the idea by the ancient Babylonians as far back as 350 BCE. In a recent Science article published on January 28th, we learn that new evidence suggests that the Babylonians came up with techniques for measuring the paths of planets, the sun, and the moon across the night sky that involved the fundamental calculus idea of Riemann sums.
Between 2002 and 2008 astroarcheologist Matthieu Ossendrijver of Humboldt University in Germany noticed drawings of trapezoids in various tablets held by the British Museum. Then in 2014, Assyriologist Hermann Hunger of the University of Vienna visited Ossendrijver, bringing pictures of another Babylonian tablet with computations identical to those from the British Museum tablets. Ossendrijver realized that the Babylonians were using trapezoids to approximate the distance traveled by Jupiter across the sky from their velocity curves. This is a discovery central to the idea of integral calculus.
At Williston Northampton School, our calculus students still use similar techniques to develop the concept of the integral. The photo below shows a poster created last year by Maddy Stern ’15 in Martha McCullagh’s calculus class that highlights this same idea. Little did she know that the Babylonians had been doing the same thing over two-thousand years ago!
The Math Resource Center tutors not only commit to being available once a week all year as math tutors, but they also take time out of their busy schedules to meet and discuss how to increase the number of students taking advantage of this great resource as well as how to improve their tutoring skills. The group met after classes on Friday, 1/15 and brain-stormed ideas regarding how they and the faculty could entice students to take the first step and come in for help.
After sharing several suggestions, the tutors moved into an activity that was designed to help them ‘practice’ tutoring, particularly targeting the skill of what to do when the tutor gets stuck! Each group was presented with a challenge problem. It was inspiring to watch the tutors discuss, debate, and search out resources such as textbooks and the internet, to help them understand and do their best to solve the problem. These 19 students are dedicated to helping others improve their understanding of mathematical concepts, and they truly hope that more students will start to take advantage of this fabulous resource.
Mrs. Whipple just sent in some materials from her Algebra 2 Honors class. They’ve just begun screencasting and her students are off to a great start! Here’s one of the first screencasts to be produced:
Her classes have recently been working on graphing a variety of functions, and as always, some students LOVE drawing on their desks! (With whiteboard markers of course!)
FluidMath is a math teaching and learning software designed for Tablet PC’s and other pen-centric computer systems. The Williston Math Department is currently investigating the system for possible introduction into our classrooms.
Last Fall, all Williston students filled out course evaluations. On those evaluations, each student was asked to pick the three words that best describe their math class. Here’s a word cloud made from the submitted words. The larger the word, the more frequently it was mentioned.
You can click on the image to view a larger version.
The Math Resource Center (MRC) is run by math teacher Ms. Libby Anderson. The MRC offers peer tutoring with math faculty oversight throughout the academic day and on two evenings a week. The tutors meet with students on a drop in basis for help with homework, to review a concept or prepare for a test. We are fortunate to have an entire classroom on the math floor devoted to the MRC. It is a welcoming environment with three large tables and three whiteboards. It is not uncommon to walk by the MRC and find a student and tutor or student and math teacher working engaged in problem-solving at the whiteboard.
Libby has worked tirelessly to make this center operational. At the beginning of the year, she held meetings and trainings to make sure the tutors were prepared to begin working with students. She meets with and solicits feedback frequently and continuously adjusts the schedule to meet the needs of students. She sends out a weekly update early each week to the entire student body reminding them of math tutor availability. She has added tutors throughout the year using a thorough application process. There are now 19 tutors taking shifts each week. All of us in the math department care deeply about providing our students with support and appreciate Libby’s dedication to the MRC. An exciting development this year has been the coordination between the MRC and Arete, a subject wide peer tutoring program run by language teacher Karen Ram. Arete helps students connect with an individual tutor with whom that student may meet on a regular basis. Libby and Karen have been in close contact in order to streamline the process for connecting students with tutors.
I am excited to announce a new award, the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester!
You can watch a video of the presentation right here.
Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:
“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”
The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Fall 2015.
Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!
Eric Chen – Eric began the trimester with trepidation. He had not been in an honors level math course until this fall and knew that he would be faced with a new level of mathematical thinking, but he was determined to make it work. He took advantage of all of his resources including the internet, extra help, and peer support from tutors in the Math Resource Center. Through his unending effort and focus, Eric had a terrifically successful trimester in this course and is set to take on the next mathematical challenge that comes his way!
Andrew Dowd – I did not pick Andrew for his innate mathematics ability. He would be the first to tell you he struggled quite a bit with trigonometry last fall. Nevertheless, because of his work ethic and determination he managed to learn a lot of mathematics and complete the course successfully. His understanding of algebra, geometry, and arithmetic all improved dramatically last term, and I was so pleased to see his growth both as a student and as a mathematician.
Simon Kim – Simon has been a dedicated and focused student all trimester. He is inquisitive and willing to take risks in his work. He has contributed to the class on many levels: volunteering answers, asking questions and helping his classmates.
Oliver Lawrence – Oliver is a leader in the classroom. I can always count on him to be one of the first students to answer a question. He comes to class prepared each and every day with his homework completed and with questions that benefit everyone in the class. I am looking forward to working with him for the remainder of the year.
Matthew Nguyen – As the top student in the Engineering & Robotics I class in trimester 1, Matthew brought his considerable talents in mathematics, programming and logic to every assignment he completed. His code was extremely well thought-out and was always impeccably commented. His robot, and it controlling computer program, garnered one of the top scores in our final “Labyrinth Challenge”. He is becoming a most promising computer scientist!
Khanh Pham – Khanh’s attention, diligence, thoughtfulness, humor, and creativity in Video Game Programming made him a joy to have in class, a resource to his peers, and a very successful programmer.
Sara Renkert – Sara has had a tremendous first trimester at Williston. Always attentive in class, Sara asks insightful questions and volunteers answers daily. She brings a positive energy to class each day and she challenges herself to be her very best. Sara is a regular at extra help where she puts the finishing touches on her test and quiz preparation. Her unwavering effort has earned her the honor of being recognized as a Williston math student of the trimester. Congratulations Sara!
Sophia Schaefer – Sophia is a very hard working an intelligent math student. She grasps difficult concepts very quickly and is able to apply them well. She is always very diligent, and she is consistently engaged in our class-room discussions.
Toula Sierros – Toula has worked hard everyday in class and on her homework. She participates both by helping others and by asking questions. She learns from her mistakes on quizzes and homework and keeps a positive attitude in her learning.
Andrew Spiegel – Andrew is a model student in algebra II. His hard work inside and outside of class is rewarded through is hard grades and strong comprehension of the material. Andrew regularly volunteers to answer difficult questions in class, and I can always rely on his to demonstrate and explain a solution to the rest of the class. His notes and homework are thorough and reflect a wonderful attention to detail as well as a sequential and easy to follow thought-process.
Cameron Stanley – Cameron has been an active member of our class since the beginning of the year. Although she relies on a strong math background, she is driven to improve and is very persistent in her efforts to understand new ideas. She takes responsible risks in class by asking questions frequently and is eager and willing to help classmates understand concepts.
Maggie White – Maggie drives class. I can count on her to push us through challenging material by making great observations, as well as to lead small groups with compassion and humility. Maggie is wonderfully focused in class, but never overly serious. She’s the kind of student that makes any group better. I very much hope that she’ll go into teaching one day!
