The National Math Foundation (NMF) will create a corps of recent college graduates acting as teaching assistants in classrooms that will serve as an extension of the programming provided by the Foundation. Thorough training will equip teaching assistants to become resources and advocates for math, literacy, nutrition, and physical activity. They will reinforce classroom instruction by holding after-school activities that provide examples to translate lessons into daily life. To further facilitate this key mission the Foundation will continue to provide support services to teachers and administrators ensuring access to current knowledge and resources.
Modeled after Teach for America, National Math Foundation’s long-term goals are to place recent college graduates (corps workers) in elementary schools as teaching assistants, math specialists, and movement-based learning specialists. The focus of the corps worker is to improve math ability, physical fitness, and wellness in the elementary school and community. One of the strategies for accomplishing these goals is to ensure that each student in the school engages in at least 60 minutes of exercise, movement-based learning activities, and “math-movements” daily.
Some of the corps members’ responsibilities include the following:
• Leading small group movement-based learning activities throughout the school day.
• Leading Math & Movement™ residency programs to train classroom teachers in movement-based learning strategies.
• Organizing stenciling projects where blacktop is stenciled with number patterns and high frequency words.
• Leading regular “healthy” meal preparation classes for parents (while simultaneously children use the Math & Movement™ materials to master basic concepts.).
• Encouraging community involvement in tutoring students.
• Leading Math in the Morning Exercise clubs.
• Supporting movement-based learning in after-school programming.
• Collecting and reporting data.
• Managing volunteers.
Math & Movement™, a curricular program that promotes math education through motion, is an up-and-coming learning technique. With a mission to help develop more confident, capable mathematicians in elementary school, Math & Movement™ will expand students’ interest in math through adulthood and into professional life. Today, this program witnesses an increased level of excitement, enthusiasm, and participation within Pre-K through Grade 4 math classes within and outside the Central New York region. Combining children’s natural desire to move with the mental challenge of calculation, Math & Movement™ builds a strong mathematical foundation while combating childhood obesity and behavioral issues. Making math interactive engages the student at a new level, creating a positive experience by turning work into constructive play.