Math Field Day educated 8th graders

11-05-2007

The Math Education Club sponsored its second annual Math Field Day at Purdue on Monday, November 5, 2007. Approximately 80 local 8th-graders participated in hands-on math games and activities. The students traveled through 10 different stations developed by club members, which provided lessons on various topics including slope, density, probability, order of operations, area and volume.

Adrienne Daniels, a senior mathematics education major, helped develop an activity that had students use their own body measurements and proportions to estimate the height of a "cadaver."

"I'm working with middle school students," Daniels said, "which hopefully will help next year when I'll be student teaching."

According to Bill Walker, K-12 outreach director for the College of Science, Math Field Day provides an opportunity for middle school students to see math outside their textbooks and to work in teams on real-world applications.

"It shows the students that math can be creative," said Walker. "Math can be social. It can be exciting."