SMC Core Curriculum Course Proposal Form
Electronically submit a copy of the course proposal form and attachments to
the Chair of the CCC. Please submit a separate copy of the proposal form for
each learning goal.
1. Name of Proposer: Dr. Ellen Veomett
2. Email address: erv2@stmarys-ca.edu
3. Department/Program of Proposer: Mathematics and Computer Science
4. Name of Department/Program housing the course: Mathematics and Computer
Science
5. Name(s) of Program Director/Department Chair (if not the proposer): Chris
Jones
6. Course Acronym, Number and Title: Math Olympics
7. Semester(s) in which course will be offered: Spring semester
8. How often is this course taught? yearly
9. Course Prerequisites (if any): none
10. Unit Value of Course: 0 (this is a program, not a course for credit)
11. Proper Audience for the course (delete those that don’t apply):
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
12. The Learning Goals for which the course is being submitted
(Courses may apply for at most one Pathways to Knowledge goal, and for as many
Engaging the World goals as is appropriate. Please complete a separate proposal
form for desired goal.)

Engaging the World:
Community Engagement
Expected Attachments
(1)
Syllabus: Course syllabus containing a course description and a list of
learning outcomes. The course’s learning outcomes should include coverage of the
Learning Outcomes associated with the Core Curriculum Learning Goal for which
the course is being proposed.
(2)
Teaching: A brief narrative (300 words) that explains how the course will
guide students toward achieving the Learning Goal. The CCC believes it would be
simplest both for the proposer and for the Working Groups if the narrative
addressed the Learning Outcomes one by one.
(3)
Learning: A brief explanation of how coursework (e.g., papers, exams,
videotaped presentations) will be used to measure student achievement of each of
the Learning Outcomes. Please address the outcomes directly and one by one.
Any course approved for the core must provide data for the assessment of Core
curriculum learning goals at an institutional level. Via this proposal a chair/program
director agrees to oversee the submission of the student work necessary for the
assessment of the learning goals. If the proposal is from an instructor, that
individual agrees to oversee submission of work from appropriate sections of their
course.
Similarly, while courses, and individual sections within courses, may vary, the Core
should provide somewhat consistent experiences within each Learning Goal. To this
end, by submitting this proposal a chair/program director/instructor agrees that
instructors of Core courses will participate in assessment exercises.
Math Olympics Overview: The Math Olympics program is designed to promote a
greater enjoyment and understanding of mathematics among middle school
students. It is also designed to help Saint Mary’s students gain experience in
teaching and sharing their love of mathematics with a disadvantaged student body,
who tend to be under-represented in the mathematical sciences.
The program starts in the spring semester, during which Saint Mary’s students visit
the Saint Martin De Porres afterschool program. Here is some data on Saint Martin
De Porres:
- More than 90% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch under the
Federal guidelines
- More than 90% of the students qualify for and receive financial aid
- Approximately 57% of the students are African American, 40% are Latino
and 3% are Asian
- Approximately 40% of the students speak a language other than English in
their homes
Each Saint Mary’s student leader will work with one other student leader, and will
be on Saint Martin De Porres’s campus one day per week. (We are only seeking
Community Engagement designation for those students who participate as leaders
in the program). During the afterschool program, the two leaders and some other
Saint Mary’s volunteers go to the Saint Martin De Porres campus, where they teach
the middle school students mathematics games. During these 1-1.5 hour sessions,
the middle school students learn new mathematical ideas, answer mathematical
questions about the game, discuss strategies for the game, and have fun with
mathematics. The games and questions tend to be about combinatorics, algebra
(adding, subtracting, and dividing), or geometry.
After about 8-10 week of this “training,” the participating Saint Martin De Porres
students will come to Saint Mary’s campus, where they will take part in a day of
“Math Olympics.” The leaders will play key roles in organizing this day. The Saint
Martin De Porres students will perform amazing mathematical feats during several
fun-filled competitions, and will each choose a prize, which consists of some fun
mathematical game that they can take home.
Teaching:
Before the start of the program, the student leaders will meet with the Saint Mary’s
faculty member who is running the Math Olympics program that year. During this
approximately hour long meeting, the faculty member will discuss the types of
mathematics that will be taught to the Saint Martin De Porres (SMDP) students. The
faculty organizer will also meet with the student leaders weekly for about 30-45
minutes. During those weekly meetings, the leaders will discuss how the SMDP
students are doing, what the experience is doing for them (the student leaders)
mathematically, as well as ideas for the next lesson in terms of both the
mathematics and how to engage the SMDP students fully. The leaders and faculty
member will also discuss the types of mathematics that are being used, and whether
other topics may be useful and appropriate.
During the initial meetings and the weekly meetings, the Saint Mary’s students will
be studying the kinds of mathematics required for the games that the Saint Martin
De Porres students will be playing. Specifically, properties of the game SET will be
discussed. The students will study the kinds of combinatorial questions that arise
with this game, as well as the linear algebra that is underlying the game. The game
24 will also be studied. This game involves simple algebra, although discussions of
strategies for the game will also lead to a study of combinatorics. Finally, the
students will study some of the academic literature on the impact of game-playing
on learning, attitudes, and retention. Articles that promote games as a learning tool
as well as articles suggesting that games should not be used will be discussed and
compared. The topics that are used in the mathematical games will benefit the Saint
Mary’s students in that it will help them to see how advanced topics like
combinatorics can be used in a middle school setting. The articles on using games as
a teaching tool will help the Saint Mary’s students to think critically about the
techniques used in teaching different topics to different audiences. And finally, the
games will benefit the Saint Martin De Porres students in that the games will help
the students to solidify and speed up their algebra skills, the games will help the
students have more patience and endurance when tackling complicated
mathematics problems, and the games will help the students to have a more positive
opinion of mathematics and their own mathematical abilities. Learning outcome #
1 will be taught through both the initial introductory meeting as well as the weekly
meetings.
Learning outcome #2 will also be taught during the weekly discussion meetings.
The faculty organizer and student leaders will discuss how the SMDP students are
reacting to the lessons, and the possible types of math that would appeal to the
students. They will discuss the struggles that the SMDP students have, both
mathematical struggles, as well as emotional mental struggles (for example, in the
form of “math phobia”). They will also discuss the struggles that they themselves
have in teaching mathematical ideas and in conveying a love of mathematics.
Finally, they will discuss how to make the next session with the students continually
better.
Learning outcome #3 will be taught through a weekly journal and final paper or
presentation. After each session with the SMDP students, the Saint Mary’s student
leaders will write a short journal entry. The entry will discuss the lesson, how the
lesson worked (or didn’t work) for the SMDP students, and their own personal
reaction. At the end of the program, the student leaders will either write a short (23 page) paper or give a presentation (at least 15 minutes long) about what the
program did for them. This paper or presentation will address: What do you think
the SMDP students got out of the program? What did you get out of the program? In
what way has this program affected your outlook on your responsibilities as a
mathematician?
Learning:
The introductory meeting, the weekly sessions with the SMDP students, and the
weekly discussion meetings constitute the “coursework” that is associated to
Learning outcome #1. The instructor will use these sessions to assess the
mathematical content of the leaders’ lessons. The instructor will also encourage the
leaders to reflect on how the SMDP students can benefit most from the weekly
sessions, as well as on how the leaders own mathematical understanding is being
broadened and deepened.
The coursework associated to Learning outcome #2 is the weekly discussion
meetings between the faculty organizer and the student leaders. The faculty
organizer will direct the discussion so that the student leaders reflect critically on
the progress of the SMDP students and their own progress as instructors and role
models. They will discuss the mathematics that they are using and the impact that
the program is having on the students and themselves.
The weekly journals and final paper or presentation will be used to assess Learning
outcome #3. The students will share their journal with the faculty organizer, who
will help to guide them as they write their papers/presentations reflecting on the
implications of their experiences. As discussed above, the journal entries will
discuss the lesson, how the lesson worked (or didn’t work) for the SMDP students,
and their own personal reaction. The final paper/presentation will address: What
do you think the SMDP students got out of the program? What did you get out of the
program? In what way has this program affected your outlook on your
responsibilities as a mathematician?