Math Club: A Success Story

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Math Club A Success Story

• If you build it, they will come!

J. Sriskandarajah - MATC AMATYC, 31st Annual
Conference San Diego, CA Friday, November 11, 2005
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Contents
Ingredients for Success
Club Activities
Accomplishments
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Ingredients For Success

• Mathematically Motivated Students
• Cooperative Faculty
• Support from the Administration
• Funding from Student Services/Foundation
• Network of Speakers from 4-Year Colleges
• Publicity within and outside campus

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Mathematically Motivated Students

• Need not be in higher level (e.g., Calculus)
  courses
• Officers must have leadership skills

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Cooperative Faculty

• Promotion of Math Club events
• Extra-Credit for student attendance and writing
  papers
• Proctoring and grading math competitions
• Web and other support Mathematically Correct, a
  weekly column

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Support from the Administration

• Video taping, Poster making
• Attendance at presentations by administrators
• Presentation of gifts to speakers
• Official welcoming, award ceremony and closing of
  math events
• Secretarial support for math competitions

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Funding from Student Services/Foundations

• Speaker travel expenses
• Meals/gifts for invited speakers (no honorarium)
• Door prizes and receptions following
  presentations
• Prizes and lunch for students, coaches and
  volunteers at math competitions
• Scholarships for high school math competition
  winners

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Network of Speakers from 4-Year Colleges

• Connections with American Mathematics
  Competitions - State Director
• Chair-Elect, MAA (WI)
• Other Professional Associations such as MAA, AMS,
  NCTM, AMATYC

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Publicity Within and Outside Campus

• Inside Publicity
• Groupwise e-mail to faculty, staff and students
• MATC Matters
• Student Bulletin
• Clarion
• Math Club display case and billboards
• Outside Publicity
• Wisconsin State Journal
• Capital Times
• Madison Times
• Isthmus
• Core Weekly

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Club Activities

• Student Math League recruiting and training
• http//matcmadison.edu/is/as/math/mathclub
• A problems page Mathematically Correct
• HS and MS Math Competitions
• Math and Music Festival
• Student Math Presentations
• Pi Day celebrations
• Who Wants To Be A Mathematician, presented by
  the AMS

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Accomplishments

• Outstanding Club of the Year 2004
• Outstanding Student Organization Academic
  Achievement 2005
• Forty-seven monthly math presentations as of
  November 2005
• Four HS math competitions with 10-12 teams
• Four MS math competitions with 25-40 teams
• Student presentation at the Spring 2001 MAA (WI).
  

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Accomplishments (continued)

• A highly successful Pi Day 2003 for Two-Year
  Colleges
• Who Wants To Be A Mathematician, presented by
  the AMS in 2004, for the FIRST time in WI.
• Consistent ranking at the top among two-year
  colleges in the Student Math League competitions
• Whats new? Math and Music Festival, a
  combination of Musical, WWTBASM and Pie Eating
  Contest

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Personal Accomplishments

• Outstanding Employee Award 2004
• Distinguished Teacher Award 2005