Math Exhibition

Have you ever wondered who discovered Algebra?  Or maybe you wanted to learn more about logarithms or matrices.  Do you know who is credited with writing the world’s first computer program or how math was used to secure victory in Europe for the Allies in World War II?  These and many other topics were presented by the 8th grade for their math exhibition which took place on Wednesday, April 6th.

The purpose of the math exhibition was to give the students a platform in which they can explore ideas or people that interest them in the arena of mathematics.  The research was done mostly independently since this was their penultimate exhibition, and they have had the practice of doing six of these so far.  The oral presentation was between 10 and 15 minutes with some students extending theirs to 20 minutes.  The oral portion is so important because it helps students to think about relaying complex ideas in a way that sixth and seventh graders can understand.  Also, having a time limit allows them to be concise with their wording and only talk about things that are important.

As a side note, when I hear back from students in high school and college, many have stated that presenting the exhibitions has helped them tremendously in their current classes.  Many are surprised at how little experience their fellow classmates have in researching and presenting long term projects.  They feel more comfortable in their abilities and credit doing the many exhibitions for their confidence.