During late July through mid-August in 2021, 24 rising 7th graders in Boston are attending Discovery Math, a three-week online course in mathematics and problem solving, affiliated with Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (www.beammath.org) in New York.
Discovery Math is a comprehensive program to create pathways for students from under-represented communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and programmers. BEAM has helped students from across New York City and Los Angeles to go on and succeed at outstanding high schools and top-tier colleges.
The Discovery Math Summer 2021 program is run by PieRSquared (www.piersquared.org ), a free math-tutoring program for all students in Nubian Square, Roxbury, with support from BEAM.
The teachers of Discovery Math, Boston are:
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Ms. Mahmoud – A mathematics teacher with significant experience in middle school. She has facilitated professional development in mathematics teaching.
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Ms. Gordon - A teacher with experience from first grade through high school. She has taught literacy, mathematics, and special education.
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Mr. Soto - A mathematics teacher with experience from sixth grade through high school. He has worked with mathematics education programs such as Bridge to Calculus and Young People’s Project.
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Ms. Kimi Nguyen – A Northeastern University student majoring in mathematics. She is an assistant teacher at Northeastern University’s Bridge to Calculus.
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Students take three classes each day, as well as have group reflections and activities, and some independent work time. They are encouraged to speak and present in our learning sessions, which they may have not done recently during remote school during the pandemic. We see our students strategizing, concentrating, practicing new math content, and becoming young scholars.
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Here are some sample questions to see the type of daily math strategies that our students are considering.
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Discovery Math and BEAM have a goal to engage young students each summer to discover the beauty of mathematics, develop real expertise in math, and succeed in great high schools and colleges. When students return to school in Fall, 2021 they can continue to receive daily free math tutoring at PieRSquared, which serves middle and high school students throughout Boston.
And we also have fun...
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In addition to our online format this summer, Discovery Math students and their families gathered in person to meet each other, play some games, and enjoy ice cream and a carousel ride at Boston's Frog Pond. It was so nice to safely gather with our students and their families! We loved seeing everyone enjoy their time together as a class.
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Discovery Math is sponsored by Ram Krishnan and Priya Yegneswaran in honor of their beloved moms, Jayalakshmi and Meenakshy, respectively.
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