Making Math Fun at UNH Manchester

Manchester, NH –The question “nine squared plus a number is 89, what is the number?” may awaken math anxiety deep within many of us. But before you go there, Professor Roberta Kieronski wants students to know that math CAN be fun! “Everyone can learn math. They just have to have it presented in a way they understand. That may be visual, tactile, or auditory. Whatever a student needs, a teachers tries to present it that way,” said Kieronski. A feeling that was echoed during courses for teachers and a conference held at UNH Manchester in January and attended by more than 145 New Hampshire teachers.

Through support from three Mathematics/Science Partnership Grants (MSP Grants) from the NH Department of Education, Professors Kieronski and Betty Erickson coordinated the Leaders in Mathematics Education (LIME) program. The grants supported two courses for grades K-6 teachers and one course for grades 7-12 teachers held during the academic year. The goal of the courses was to provide teachers with the resources to make math fun. The teachers learned how to use manipulatives to provide hands on learning experiences for students. Kieronski said, “High school students who have failed algebra twice were able to understand using the manipulatives provided to the teachers.”

The grant program included a conference held in January where each participating teacher had to give a presentation on teaching mathematics. One hundred forty-five New Hampshire teachers participated in the LIME Conference. They spent a day enjoying mathematics and learning how to use manipulatives to help students understand mathematical concepts. Sessions covered data, statistics and probability; geometry and measurement; and teaching algebra with manipulatives.

There were 37 sessions which covered grades pre-kindergarten to high school. Some of the sessions were: Go for Glyphs! which combined math with Art; Nothing but Algebra Tiles showed how to use manipulatives to explain algebra concepts; Hip Hop Frog Hop combined science and math with origami and Integrating Math and Literature which showed how to use “read aloud” with math manipulatives. At the end of the day 44 door prizes of math manipulatives and teacher resources were awarded by random drawings.

Students in the program wrote rave reviews and appreciated the opportunity to hear from their peers about their successes and disappointments. Besides the door prizes, the teachers appreciated all the new ideas and materials which could be used immediately in their classrooms.

Photos available upon request

UNH Manchester, UNH’s urban campus, offers liberal arts and applied majors in business, science, and technology, all with an urban focus