math trail – Page 2 – MathCityMap

On 28.09.17, Daniel Birnbaum, Martin Lipinski and Simone Jablonski presented MathCityMap as part of an internal teacher training at the Johanneum Gymnasium in Herborn. First, the theoretical basis for Math Trails as well as the MCM concept were presented to the participants. With the help of the criteria for good MCM tasks, the participants were then themselves active and searched for possible tasks at the schoolyard. After a change of perspective, the participants learned about the app by means of a trail in the schoolyard, consisting of combinatorial and geometrical problems.

We would like to thank the participants for their cooperation and feedback and look forward to numerous MCM tasks in and around Herborn. Are you interested in teacher training on MCM? Feel free to contact us!

After one year of preparation we managed it: MathCityMap is the heart of the Strategic Partnership MoMaTrE. MoMaTrE is an acronym for Mobile Math Trails in Europe. The working group MATIS I led the application for this Erasmus + project. Currently, seven institutions from five countries are participating:

Goethe University, Frankfurt
Univerzita Konstantina Filozofa, Nitra, Slovakia
Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento, Lisbon, Portugal
Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Porto, Portugal
Autentek GmbH, Berlin (software company)
Federación Española de Sociedades de Profesores de Matemáticas, Santander, Spain

Within the next three years, the project has the following aims

Spread of mobile Math Trails across Europe
Further development of MathCityMap (including Gamification, mobile authoring tools, new task formats, educational Math Trail features)
Database for generic Tasks
Development and implementation of (international) training modules (shortterm curriculum)
Development and implementation of accredited seminars on outdoor mathematics (longterm curriculum)
Explore the use of mobile math trails and present the results at congresses and publications

Apart from the contentual reasons, the many supporting letters of our associate partners were responsible for the award. For example, we were able to convince the MNU, the Media Office of the DMV, Mathe im Leben, the DZLM, and the Stiftung Rechnen. From France are supported by the IREM, from Spain the Royal Spanish Society of Mathematics, from Portugal the Mathematicial Society as well as the Mathematics Teaching Association, and from Slovakia the Association of Slovak mathematicians and physicists.

From 17th July to 22nd July 2017, MathCityMap was presented at the National Institute for Educational Development in Okahandja to a select group of postgraduates and students from all over Namibia. Of course, we searched for special tasks. One of them focuses on the Camel Thorn Tree…

…and another on the Namibian Desert Cactus.

The interest in the mobile mathtrails was very high and tasks were found and created diligently. We are looking forward to seeing more tasks in whole Namibia.

After all teachers had learned about the system, and the registration problems had been solved, the participants were able to create tasks by themselves. They found good objects to experience mathematics.

The problems came later back in the classroom. Again, it was experienced that a precise formulation, the creation of hints and sample solutions are not formulated easily. Of course, there were also technical problems since not all teachers had the appropriate IT knowledge to exchange images between two devices or to edit them (for example a 90° rotation). Nevertheless, each group was able to integrate a task into the system.

We, the MCM project team, are a little proud that our idea and system also works in South Africa! But the participants enjoyed it as well as the final photo shows. MCM says thanks to RUMEP (Rhodes University Math Education Project).

On Monday, 10.07.2017, Martin Lipinski and Iwan Gurjanow of the MathCityMap project held a training course on the subject of mathtrails and the use of technology for teachers in teaching practice in Cologne. The day already started at 7 o’clock to finish the tasks. From 15 o’clock, approximately 25 participants had the opportunity to test the MathCityMap app, develop their own tasks around the campus of the TH Köln and the Rhine and create them in the portal. It was measured, calculated, laughed and emotionally discussed as well as new ideas collected for the teaching use. The leaderboard gamification created a small competition among the math trailers.

In the end everyone agreed: The MCM project is very suitable for contributing to the development of competencies in mathematics teaching. In particular, they emphasized the promotion of numerical and geometrical competencies.

This week, we had the opportunity to present MathCityMap at a teacher training at Rhodes University in Grahamstown in South Africa.

Matthias Ludwig followed the invitation of Prof. Dr. Marc Schäfer (chair of mathematics education, Rhodes University) and accepted the challenge to present and test MCM in South Africa.

The area of Rhodes University offers a variety of objects which are suitable for good MCM tasks. Three routes with 6-7 tasks could be created. On Monday, the theory of outdoor mathematics and the basic idea of MCM were introduced. On Tuesday, almost all of the 50 teachers were able to install the MCM app on their Android smartphones. Some tried it with their Windows phones, but of course it did not work. None of the teachers owned an iPhone! Afterwards, it was time to solve the tasks, but it turned out that many participants were not able to navigate on a map at all. Some had not activated the GPS localization and searched the right direction. Thanks to the support of Clemens and Percy, we found the reason quickly.

It was a pleasure to observe the teachers during solving the tasks, and to see the joy when the MCM app rewarded a 100-point response and a green check. Overall, the concept of “doing mathematics outside” was completely new to the South Africans.

There was also a discussion about units, conversions and modeling. Especially the modeling process is relevant for MCM since one has to translate reality into a mathematical model to solve the tasks numerically.

At the invitation of Stiftung Rechnen and EuroScience, Iwan Gurjanow and Matthias Ludwig spent two days in Kappeln in Schleswig-Holstein at the Baltic Sea to create MCM Mathtrails for a vacation project.

The Stiftung Rechnen and EuroScience will hold from 08.07. – 12.08 the interactive exhibition Mathe Magie. To do this, the working group MATIS I was asked to create various MCM trails in the city at the Schlei. Of course, this was not a question for us: we would like to support the project and created 27 new tasks in Kappeln at the beginning of June.

The photo shows : Jeanette Schuppe-Krahn (EuroScience), Henning Mittelmann (Mittelmanns Werft), Matthias Ludwig, Iwan Gurjanow (both Goethe University), Bodo Meusel (EuroScience), Lara Zemite (Wirtschaft und Touristik Kappeln GmbH), Matthias Mau.

On Tuesday, 23.05.2017, members of the MCM team were invited by the research team of the University of Münster to create a Math Trail in the north of the Aasee. They also informed interested teachers about the basic didactic theories as well as the technical possibilities of the MCM project. 28 teachers and interested people followed the invitation and, according to the theory, tested the app and the tasks of the route Aasee Nord.

In this summer semester, students (for becoming a teacher in mathematics) at Goethe University Frankfurt again have the opportunity to take part in the Mathtrail seminar as a special event in order to get to know the advantages of outdoor mathematics. Before the participants will develop their own tasks and trails, they should experience how it feels to make mathematics outside the classroom. This Thursday , the course took place at the Mainufer near the ECB in order to run the trail in the “Im Schatten der EZB“, which was created and tested a year ago by the Mathtrail seminar, with help of the MCM app.

In the end, everyone agreed that a mathtrail can be a lot of fun and time can fly when one solves the math problem outside the classroom. However, it has also become clear that it is not so easy to develop good tasks, because the boundary between challenge and frustration can already be exceeded through a narrow solution interval.

In the coming weeks, students will be familiar with the MathCityMap system and then implement their own trail. We are curious!

P.S.: The weather was good as always! ?

Being part of the “Day of Mathematics and Natural Sciences” in Saxony, the MathCityMap team held a course on outdoor mathematics with MCM. The “Sächsische Bildungsinstitut” (SBI) invited to this event on 9th March 2017 in Meißen at Schloss Siebeneichen. 24 participants took part in the workshop and were able to solve mathematical problems and questions around the castle. For example, one had to find out how high the tower of the castle is or how many liters of water fit into the pool. In the second part of the course, the teachers were able to search for own mathematical tasks in the environment and to create them in the portal.

We hope that the participants had a lot of fun and got some ideas for their own lessons. We are already looking forward to tasks and trails that will follow from this event.

Are you interested in workshops on outdoor mathematics with MathCityMap? Take a look at our event page.

Tag: math trail

MCM in Herborn

MoMaTrE – Mobile Math Trails In Europe

MathCityMap goes to Namibia

MathCityMap thanks RUMEP

MathCityMap in Cologne

MathCityMap goes to South Africa

MCM Trails in Kappeln

MCM in Münster at the Aasee

Mathtrail Seminar 2017

MathCityMap in Meißen