Community Outreach
Outreach Projects
Our faculty and students are involved in a wide range of projects engaging the local community and beyond.
Poincaré
Institute - Montserrat Teixidor, Boris Hasselblatt, Kim
Ruane, Alex Babinski, Sarah Bray, Charlie Cunningham, Andy Eisenberg
Tufts has received a five-year grant from the National Science
Foundation Math and Science Partnership Program (NSF-MSP) to launch an
ambitious initiative teaming middle-school teachers from districts in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine with Tufts faculty, graduate
students, and staff for interactive mathematical coursework. Professor
Montserrat Teixidor i Bigas is the principal investigator.
View website >
Noyce/NSF Scholarship Program - Todd Quinto
Tufts professors from the Education and Physics Departments are working
along with Mathematics Professor Todd Quinto on the Noyce/NSF Teaching
Fellowship Program to attract and train math and science students to
teach those subjects in high-needs middle schools and high schools.
Noyce Fellows receive a full scholarship to the Master of Arts in
Teaching (MAT) program at Tufts and a stipend and special mentoring in
the beginning of their teaching careers.
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Somerville Mathematics Fund - Ziggy Nitecki
The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of Dollars for Scholars,
was chartered in September 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement
in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. The Fund offers
scholarships to students who went to high school in Somerville and go on
to major in STEM subjects in college, as well as grants of up to $500
for local teachers working on math enrichment projects.
The Fund also sponsors a range of local events, particularly the popular
annual ScrapHeap Showdown, loosely modeled on Junkyard Wars: we set a
problem, and high school students, in teams of three or so, get about 3
hours to solve it, using a pile of junk we bring in and deposit on the
floor. In 2010, the problem was a Rube Goldberg-type machine; another
year, it was to build a bridge out of paper and tape (no duct tape---and
the winning bridge held 40 pounds!); and another year, it was to build a
windmill.
View website >
MA in
Teaching - Todd Quinto, Kim Ruane
The Education Department offers a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
degree for future teachers at the Elementary level and at the
Middle/High School level. Faculty from our department, like Professors
Quinto and Ruane, have a history of helping out with the mathematics
part of the curriculum, such as by observing and advising student
teachers.
View website >
Advanced
Quantitative Reasoning - Mary Glaser
Advanced Quantitative Reasoning (AQR) is a newly-designed mathematics
intended to follow Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. The course
emphasizes statistics and financial applications, and it prepares
students to use algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and discrete
mathematics to model a range of situations and solve problems. Mary
Glaser is involved as a certified teacher trainer for Massachusetts.
View website >
Canada/USA Mathcamp
- Moon Duchin
Canada/USA Mathcamp is a 5-week summer program for some of the most
talented high school mathematicians in North America --- and,
increasingly, from overseas as well. Its location changes yearly,
rotating through different college campuses. Students get to see
mathematics at a high level and surrounded by a lively, fun, incredibly
geeky community. Mathcamp is administered by the Mathematics Foundation
of America, for which Assistant Professor Moon Duchin serves on the
Board of Directors-- she is also a regular visitor and lecturer at camp.
View website >
Math Circle - Yulan Qing
Math Circles are mathematical enrichment groups aimed at
high-school-aged and younger students that have cropped up all over the
country since 1998. Graduate student Yulan Qing is a regular teacher in
the Boston Math Circle ( www.themathcircle.org ), and has now decided to
found one based at Tufts. The Tufts Math Circle will bring together K-12
students to think about mathematical ideas, problems, and puzzles in the
spirit of exploration and inspiration.
View website >
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