Maths Circles 2012/2013 Report
1. Summary
During the academic year 2012/2013, the Maths Circles initiative underwent expansion both geographically and in terms of the age-groups of student participants. With the introduction of the UCC Junior Mathematics Enrichment Programme for 2nd and 3rd year students, the new collaboration with the Rockboro Primary School, and the link with the UCC Maths Enrichment classes, there is now a continuum of extra-curricular mathematical activities for children around Cork from Primary School up to and including the Leaving Certificate.
In addition, the Maths Circle team have continued networking with teachers and industry leaders, as well as with other stakeholders in mathematics education. This led to the expansion of the project outside the Cork area.
Our activities had an international dimension through the successful participation of a 1st year Junior cycle Cork student as the youngest competitor in the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad, as well as through the 10 junior Cork teams who took part in an international online team competition.
2. The UCC Junior Mathematics Enrichment Programme
Newly started in 2012/2013, this programme was designed as a follow-up for the students who have participated in Maths Circles in their schools during the previous year, as well as other Junior Certificate students with an interest in Mathematics. While run in the playful and relaxed style of the Maths Circles, encouraging student participation and team-work, it was also meant to ease the transition to the senior Maths Enrichment programme.
The programme ran from November 2012 to May 2013. A total of 130 Junior cycle students from schools throughout the Cork area participated. The students were assigned tofour 90 min classes which ran bi-weekly at UCC, with the help of UCC Mathematical Sciences undergraduate and postgraduate students. Four members of the Maths Circles organizing team (David Goulding, Anca and Andrei Mustata, Ciaran O ‘Conaill) ran/supervised the classes every week.
The curriculum/lesson plans for this programme were developed since June 2012 as a result of collaborative work between UCC student Kieran Cooney and Maths Circles team member Anca Mustata, with plenty of feedback from other team members.
3. First year Maths Circles.
We started Maths Circles in 9 new centres, along with continuing the programmes in older centres. Here is the list of schools involved in the Maths Circles in Cork area since the beginning of the project:
1.Ashton School2.Bishopstown Community School
3.Carrigaline Community School
4.Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh
5.Coláiste Daibhéid
6.Colaiste An Phiarsaigh, Glanmire
7.Christian Brothers College
8.Douglas Community College
9.Hamilton High School, Bandon
10.Gaelcholáiste Mhuire
11.Glanmire Community College
12.Killarney Community College
13.Mount Mercy College
14.Nagle Community College
15.North Monastery CBS
16.North Presentation Secondary School
17.Presentation Brothers College
18.Scoil MhuireGan Small Blarney
19.St Aidan Community College
20.St Aloysius School, Cork
21.St Mary’s Secondary School, Macroom
22.Ursuline Convent Secondary School, Blackrock
In addition, one of our students ran a maths circles within (and financed by) Rockboro Primary School . Other schools have shown an interest in organizing a maths circle but we did not have student tutors available at the requested times.
Another interesting new development was a maths circle focussed on Statistics, run for transition year students in Cristians Brothers College by a school Alumni who is now a UCC student.
4. National network
An intense public relations effort was spearheaded by Maths Circles team member David Goulding, with contributions from other team members and UCC students.
Contact with Brien Nolan from Dublin City University led to start of the first Dublin maths circles. These were run by students from St. Patrick’s College coached by Brien Nolan and using the Maths Circles Handbook developed by Ciaran O’Conaill from Douglas Community School, Cork.
Beneavin College,Finglas Margaret Aylward Community College, Whitehall
Our Lady of Mercy College,
Beaumont Plunket College,
DrumcondraRosmini Community School,
DrumcondraScoilChaitríona,
Glasnevin St Aidans CBS, Whitehall
St Josephs Secondary School, Stanhope Street
Another exciting development is the beginning of a collaboration with 'Cork Does the Maths', a group of industry and business leaders in Cork wishing to raise awareness of the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in girls’ schools. Members of this group can help by running Maths Circles themselves or possibly sponsoring a school to run a maths circle in collaboration with UCC students.
Other support gathering activities include a talk by Julie O’Donovan at the Irish Mathematical Society 2012 meeting, as well as the Maths Circles team presence at the Maths Fest in Autumn 2012. A meeting with Seamus Knox from the Department of Education is expected to lead to maths circles being started in other centres, as well as possible use of maths circles material in secondary school curriculum.
5. International Aspects
A first year junior cycle Cork student was the youngest participant in the 2013 European Girls Mathematical Olympiad. She earned an Honourable Mention and the best score in the Irish team, proving the benefits of involvement in problem solving from a younger age. The four member Irish team came home from the event with two awards. The second Honourable mention was earned bya 5th year Cork student,who has been involved with the UCC Mathematics Enrichment programme since her 3rd year.
55 other junior students had the opportunity to participate in the international online team competition Purple Comet - an exciting new experience for them.
6. Costing and Budget
In the 2012/2013 academic year, we had a total of 21 UCC students engaged in the delivery of approximately 200 maths circle hours. The beneficiaries were more than 250 junior cycle students. To date our tutors have received a total of EU 5,000 in payments.
To sustain the low costs, as well as to monitor the quality of the delivery, our Maths Circles organizing team members have put in approximately 50 student contact hours each on a voluntary basis for the junior programme only, in addition to the day-to-day organizational commitment. In addition, the same team members have been actively involved in the Mathematics Enrichment Programme.
The Maths Circles programme organizers are extremely grateful for the following support
Amount / FromEU 11,000 / Prof. Patrick Fitzpatrick – research grant overhead
EU 3,000 / CTVR (the national telecommunications research centre at TCD)
EU 5,000 (not received yet) / SEFS
We have carefully monitored our costs in the hope to be able to use this funding to support our activities for this and the next two years.