MathAmigos – Programs for Teachers and Students
MathAmigos is a collaborative working group which focuses on training teachers from five local public elementary schools to “inspire kids to love math” using innovative strategies and techniques.
MathAmigos Teacher Workshops
Since 2017, MathAmigos has offered training workshops for local elementary school teachers. The workshops introduce teachers to exciting new ways to teach math concepts to children who have come to believe they “can’t learn math.”
Each Saturday workshop begins at 9:00 with a short introduction and a light breakfast. The teachers attend different and exciting sessions during the day. An example of the session topics for our first workshops were: Exploding Dots, Math Circles, and Cuisenaire Rods. Lunch is provided at noon. Finally, teachers fill out a short evaluation of the workshop, receive their stipend, and leave for the day about 2 pm.
The feedback from the teachers has been fantastic! They also shared many of the difficulties they face including the fact that students have widely different abilities and backgrounds, the use of different curriculums in different schools making it difficult for a teacher or student who changes schools, and the need for teachers to work on weekends and even pay for some of their classroom supplies. Teachers have been VERY positive about the in-class visits by experienced peer coaches. We use feedback from teachers to improve subsequent events. Some of the materials used at the workshops is available here.
When the pandemic made in-person workshops impossible, the challenge for MathAmigos was to figure out how to teach these hands-on math techniques in an online format. We did figure it out, and in the process gained important insight into the roadblocks teachers experience every day in their virtual classrooms. We have since resumed the in person workshop format. Please submit our contact form if you have any questions.
The following link to past workshop formats so you can see how they are organized and what sorts of materials are presented.
MathAmigos Provides E-Coaching to Teachers;
Delivers “Grab and Go” Math Kits to Kids
Since September Judy Reinhartz, PhD, has been e-coaching 3rd and 4th grade teachers at Sweeney Elementary to integrate math-themed children’s books and hands-on materials into online instruction. Her Embedding Literacy in Math program uses childrens books to spark students’ interest, expand their math vocabulary, engage in meaningful math conversations, and make sense of the world of numbers in their daily lives. Dr. Reinhartz has distributed 150 “grab and go” math bags to children in this program. Teachers report that students embrace these books with great enthusiasm in part because they show how math fits into everyday life.
“Homework Help U Hotline”: Helping Students Make the Grade
Online learning creates all sorts of barriers to learning. As a result, many students are falling behind or even failing in math. To bridge this
ever-increasing gap, Santa Fe Public Schools has created a Homework Help U Hotline for students and their parents. And MathAmigos
partners have volunteered their time to respond when students or parents call for help with homework.
While the Homework Help U Hotline is in its early stages, more and more calls are coming in. Currently there are about 35 volunteers who have responded to almost 70 calls. If you or someone you know is struggling with math in school, consider referring them to the
Homework Help U Hotline at (505) 467-4663. Phone lines are open Monday through Thursday from 4-6PM and the help is free.
MathAmigos Donates Math Resource Libraries to Targeted Elementary Schools
In response to an increasing need for books and supplies at local public schools, MathAmigos has assembled and donated boxes of math-related resources to five public elementary schools in Santa Fe’s Airport Corridor — Cesar Chavez, El Camino Real, Nina Otero, Ramirez Thomas, and Sweeney. Each school received more than 200 items: math-themed children’s books, booklets containing fun math activities and story problems, innovative Mindset Mathematics handbooks for teachers, and kid-friendly math supplies (like Geoboards, Spinners, Dominos, playing cards, and dice) to keep students engaged during online classes. Teachers from these five schools are encouraged to borrow the math supplies they need for their online classes, then return them for others to check out.
When schools reopen, the MathAmigos Teachers’ Resource Libraries will make it even easier for teachers to expand their options as they inspire kids to love math.
Mathmagical Times! MathAmigos Partners with Santa Fe Public Library to Create “Mathemagical Times”
Over the summer Santa Fe Public Library and MathAmigos offered a unique interactive math and literacy program for 80 children ages 4 through 14. Mathemagical Times utilized an online format where MathAmigos and Library staff hosted twice-weekly sessions for four different age groups — reading math-themed children’s books aloud and leading activities related to those books that brought math to life in unexpected ways. Based on the success of the summer program, the Library and MathAmigos teamed up again this fall to offer a similar online program — Mathemagical Times X 2 — for middle school youth grades 5-9. They utilized literature, art, writing, puzzles, games, and manipulatives such as dominos and Geoboards, to develop the knowledge and skills students need to learn 5th to 8th grade math.
They also introduced 8 and 9 grade students to new symbols and abstractions to help students grasp pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry. The program was designed to show middle school kids what is “under the hood” and fun about math — leading to greater resilience in meeting increasingly difficult mathematical challenges.
Both the summer and fall Mathemagical Times programs relied on books provided by the Library and activity kits provided by MathAmigos, all of which were distributed to participating kids through the Library.
Math Family Nights
MathAmigos works with principals and teachers to hold Math Family Nights at schools. We have about 25 games and activities involving math and teachers will work with kids and parents at each table. In the past, about 250 people attended our Math Family Night, spent a few hours with us, played math games/activities, and enjoyed the food and beverages provided.
The night was about parents and kids having fun while doing something with math. There were puzzles, things kids could put their hands on, wonderful discussions, thoughtful faces, and big smiles throughout the evening. Some were shy at first, but there was no pressure and kids and parents quickly joined in the activities. Here are some of the activities used in Family Nights.
