Participant Testimonials
The Ted Lewis Math Fair Conference presenters shared valuable information about their experiences in hosting a math fair with the students at their own schools. I am excited to use the puzzles and the tips that I have learned in planning and executing a math fair with my elementary students next year! It was especially helpful to see a breakdown of the months by one presenter and all that is necessary in order to pull it all together. Thank you! The Banff center is a beautiful campus in the middle of nature and only a short distance from downtown Banff. We were well taken care of and the food at the breakfast buffet was absolutely delicious!
Typically, the workshops at BIRS are concerned with mathematical research, so deep and specialized is the research that a mathematician who is not familiar with the area being investigated would be hard pressed to understand what was happening. The math fair workshops are quite different. A few of the attendees are research mathematicians, but many are K-12 teachers, and many have only had a few undergrad math courses. It would be unusual (even disastrous) for the mathematicians to present anything about their own research. The workshop is successful if it persuades K-12 teachers to incorporate math based puzzles and games into their teaching. The annual BIRS Math Fair workshop is a fantastic way for us to spread information about Math Fairs to grade-school teachers.
My work at the BIRS workshop has given me some new ideas and thoughts on how I might change and structure my work for the coming school year. It offered new insights and some great ideas for new projects. I haven't always loved math. It was a struggle for me when I was young, but I enjoy findings ways to challenge my students and to help find ways for them to fall in love with math. I've already done some work with my kids this year and it's been awesome to see them tackle some of the problems we talked about. I can't wait to roll out a whole year of thinking differently!
