Moscow Center for Continuous Math education education - keeping ...

Moscow Center for Continuous Math
education - keeping traditions of Russian
math education

Co-founders of MCCME
MCCME was founded (1994)
by
• Moscow Government
• Mathematical
section of the
Russian academy of sciences
• Steklov Mathematical Institute
• Moscow State University
• Independent University of Moscow.

Objectives
• Improving level of math education in
Russia
• finding mathematically gifted children;
• teaching not only high level math, but
math in the context of world culture;
• educating not only the mind but the spirit.

Ways and means
• Improving teachers qualification
• creating a favorable environment for the
development of the intellect and creativity of
gifted school children;
• enhancing the inner motivation for the study of
mathematics;
• maintaining a high level of education;
• bringing up children by teaching;
• maintaining the continuity of math education:
math circle high h school university;

Important aspects
• individual approach
to each pupil;
• involving research
mathematicians ti i and
university students
in the educational process;
• famous mathematicians involved in
teaching create a special atmosphere;
• best university students enthusiastically
teach gifted high school students

Training future research
mathematicians is not the main
purpose.
The most important is
to teach children
to work hard and honestly and
to enjoy this process.

Elements of the system
• math circles;
• well-organized wide spectrum of math
competitions.
• network of math schools and specialized
math classes;
• lectures for pupils and teachers;
• summer camps;
• community of math teachers and working
mathematicians;
ti i
• publishing and internet projects.

Math circles
• Saturday club for high school
students interested in math;
• conducted by research
mathematicians and best
university students;
• lectures on interesting topics;
• solving series of interrelated
problems;
• very informal atmosphere;
• very strong feedback
expected.

Summer schools
• two aspects:
competition and
learning;
• education is indivisible
from communication;
• students acquire the
very spirit of
mathematics;
• what is mathematics
and who are the
mathematicians

Math competitions – not a main
goal but a tool
• Olympiads
• Tournament of towns
• Team competitions
Mathematical
“battles”
• …
Mathematical “regattas”
Mathematical ti “feast”

Research projects and summer
conferences
• Tournament of towns summer conference
–One problem for a week, not 50 for 4 hours ,
or 6 for 5 hours
– Possible cooperation
– Awards
• Partial success in a problem
• Full success in a problem

Some figures
• 100 000 pupils in Moscow in each form
• 15000 participants in math competitions
• 1000 attends math circles
• 100 pupils in high level specialized math
schools and classes

In our opinion,
studying math is
an excellent tool in
education and upbringing,
in the creation of a balanced
personality

Main focus: math teacher
MCCME develop active communication with
Moscow and all-Russia school math teachers:
• Improvement of teachers qualification
(More than 15 special courses yearly)
• Involving colleagues in olimpiads
• Special math contest for teachers
• Conferences and meetings
• Publishing and internet activities
• Internet site to answer teachers questions

High and middle school
students
• ”Kruzhoks” and Correspondence
shool of MCCME
– All materials are available at
http://www.mccme.ru/circles/mccme/
• Math comptetitions
• Moscow math conference of school
students
• Summer Schools

Distant “kruzhoks”
• Mathematical internet-kruzhok
• Correspondence probability theory and
statistics school
• Distant collective internet-kruzhok
k

Examples
• Cut A and B figures
into “T” figures:
«»
.
.
• Cut each figure into
two equal parts:
) )
) )
• The box contains 10 sweets. Peter and Mary are playing
the game: every minute one of them can take one, two
or three sweets from the box and eat them. The person
who will eat the last sweet will win. Mary takes sweets
first. Who will win and what is the best strategy?

Example of Olympiad:
Moscow mathematical Olympiad
• One of the most known Olympiads in
the world
• Everybody is eligible to participate
• More that 5000 students participated
in 2008

Creative contest
• Teachers solve problems and “check” students’ papers
• Participation in the contest is fully voluntary and
anonymous
– Only names of winners are announced
• Winners of the contest are awarded by diplomas,
premiums and valuable prizes
• Receiving of the diploma may serve as the basis for the
increase of the qualification category

Methodological support of
“kruzhoks”
• The process:
–the school subscribes and receivesan entrance test
– the school receives the tasks, extra tasks,
methodological recommendations
– ateacherconducts conducts the “kruzhok”
–a teacher sends resultsand obtains specific detailed
recommendations and appropriate tasks
• Hotline works
• Form of qualification improvement
• Certificate – for students

Distant “kruzhok” teacher’s
materials. Structure
• Tasks
• Methodological recommendations:
–Timing
–What to solve first
– Ideas
–Hints
– Solutions and tricks
–How to give the summary
– How to make it look like a game
How to make it look like a game
• Detailed solutions

Teachers’ materials collection
• Materials of best
teachers are
collected
• Teachers share
their methodology

Working with university
students
• Independent University and project
with Higher School of Economics
• Summer schools
• Involving students s into the work
with schoolchildren

Internet-attestation of schools
• Publicity and transparency
• Approved database of tasks
• independent system of content knowledge
check

Internet-projects
• MCCME.ru
• Math.ru
• Problems.ru
• olimpiada.ru
• System of internet-attestation
• Internet-Olympiads

CREATIVE CONTEST FOR
TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS
Two-step Olympiad. (First stage is online.)
Aims of the contest:
Measuring content and pedagogical knowledge. This will
help to identify practices that lead to high mathematical
knowledge among teachers.
Motivation of school teachers to improve their skills in
mathematics.
Rewarding good specialists.
Important:
Anonymity. Every person will be able to know only about
his results. Only names of the winners will be published.
Prizes (such as invitation to workshop, conference or just
cash prize)
Acknowledgement of colleagues

TRANLSATION OF MCCME
MATERIALS
Existing materials
Huge database of various mathematical problems
(Olympiads, contests, etc.)
Materials of different courses (E.g. summer schools
materials, materials of “kruzhoks
kruzhoks”, Independent University
courses materials, etc.)
Partner’s projects (like etudes.ru)
Current materials
Tasks of different contests, t that t are going now
(mathematical battles, regattas, tournaments etc.)
Materials of present-day “Kruzhoks”
Permanent support and renewal
Some videos (e.g. performances of famous mathematicians)
can also be translated

TRANSLATION OF
RUSSIAN TEXTBOOKS
Possible projects:
• Textbook “Mathematics” written by B. P. Geidman -
text book for the elementary school.
• “Probability”. bilit It combines practicality with the
clearness and contains a lot of important tasks and
their solutions.
• The books published in MCCME, containing
materials of prominent Russian teachers. For
example, the textbooks based on mathematical
education in one of the best Moscow 57 school.

Summer workshop for teachers (in
Moscow)
• Ability to share best practices between Russian
and American teachers
• Invitation to a conference as a reward for
winners of the Creative Contest
• Brilliant Russian teachers methodologists could
be invited