Ted Lewis SNAP Math Fair Workshop 2018 (18w2221)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Ted Lewis SNAP Math Fair Workshop 2018" workshop in Banff from April 27, 2018 to April 29, 2018.

During this pivotal time of K-9 curriculum reform in our province it is important to find the correct balance between inquiry-based problem solving and practicing basic facts in the mathematics classroom. The purpose of a SNAP math fair is to provide a meaningful problem-solving experience for all students.

This would be the sixteenth annual Ted Lewis Math Fair Workshop at BIRS. The workshop is extremely popular with teachers in elementary and secondary schools, provides them with resources for lesson plans, and it is helping to to reshape the way mathematics is being approached in the schools. Problem solving and puzzles in the classroom is now a specific area of the K-9 curriculum and in-service teachers have had very little training in using these tools effectively. This is not limited to Alberta schools, and the SNAP math fair idea is now spreading around the world. This type of 2-day workshop is considered front line approach in the collaborative effort between mathematicians, more experienced teachers, and all teachers interested in professional development to improve the mathematics teaching in the elementary level and beyond. To have teachers share their valuable experiences with math fair in their own schools is the best and most useful information to others. Teachers in Alberta and participants from outside view the Ted Lewis Workshop as one of PIMS and BIRS most valuable education initiatives.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).