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The Math Squad is about creative ways that teachers can use art, writing, research, and Internet projects to make math more exciting for their students. This web site describes the projects that I am using with great success. It is intended to be a resource for teachers and students.

The biggest problem that we encounter as math teachers is the pervasive attitude that math is both boring and unusually difficult. Many students have the mistaken idea that only those gifted with special "math abilities" can ever succeed in math. This is simply not true. It is our job as math teachers to show students that math can be fun and that they do not need to be "math brains" to succeed in high school math.

Although math teachers often use art activities to reinforce specific math lessons and concepts e.g., geometric designs, tessellations, fractals, computer art, etc. (and art is valuable when used this way) these kinds of art activities are not the subject of this web site.

The Math Squad art projects are really quite different, both in scope and content. First, these are year-long projects. Instead of being "lesson oriented," they are designed to create an "adventure theme" in which the math instruction is more easily facilatated. Second, they provide a tangible "thread" of continuity and cumulative reinforcement.

The math projects of this type are designed to achieve several goals: 

  • The projects create a sense of fun and excitement - an "adventure."
  • They can be used in conjunction with almost any curriculum.
  • They become an ongoing, tangible record of the material that is covered. 
  • They help students appreciate applications of math.
  • They help students understand the cohesiveness of what they have studied. 
  • They are a valuable aid in reviewing material covered. 
  • They involve the student in research - especially on the Internet. 
  • They also incorporate the design of student web pages. 
  • They are effective in the regular classroom as well as in more individualized situations, such as in tutoring and homeschooling.

I encourage your comments and questions.

-Jim Bennett .



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