Month: April 2023

26
Apr
2023
Divyanshi Mehrotra

Divyanshi Mehrotra

Born in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India • Birth year 1994 • Studied Mathematics at the University of Lucknow, India • Highest degree Master in Mathematics • Lives in Lucknow, India • Occupation Content Developer of Creative Mathematics at UnMath School pvt. Ltd

When I failed one of my Math exams in 9th Grade, my mother got worried and searched for a home tutor for me. He was around 70 years old, passionate about Math and was hardly concerned about my syllabus. I still remember that he wrote in my notebook the heading “Sridharacharya Formula” – also known as quadratic formula and started deriving it and explaining the concept to me. When I tried mentioning to him that this was not part of my syllabus he told me, ‘If you want to explore Math, you have to forget about your syllabus and enjoy mathematics beyond textbooks.’ Those words deeply touched me.

‘If you want to explore Math, you have to forget about your syllabus and enjoy mathematics beyond textbooks.’

I started cultivating a voracious interest in Mathematics and subsequently it became the central focus of my studies as I scored exceptionally good marks in all the exams. Not satiated by the theories taught in school, I can vividly recollect all the reminiscences where I had the keen urge to delve into the subject. I managed to top the entire district in 10th Grade, with distinction in 5 subjects. I decided thence forth to pursue the subject in higher grade and I started a Bachelor of Sciences in Math at one of the most proficient universities of my native region in India.

I graduated from university with excellent marks and better proficiency than before which also served as an impetus for my further undertaking of a post-graduate program in Mathematics. As Mathematics is more of a practical subject, I paid much attention on the improvement of my mental ability through practice of quantitative reasoning and data interpretation and Experiential learning. I even earned a Baccalaureate in physical education in my bachelor course.

After completing my post-graduate studies in Mathematics, I decided to pursue my double masters in Actuarial Science. With hard work and luck by my side, I got accepted at the University college Dublin in Ireland.

This inspired me to explore ways to bridge this gap and make math more engaging and accessible for the students aged 4-14 years through the use of gamification and hands-on activities.

During my teaching career, I was surprised by the gap between the students’ enthusiasm for games and for hands-on activities and by their lack of interest in math. This inspired me to explore ways to bridge this gap and make math more engaging and accessible for the students aged 4-14 years through the use of gamification and hands-on activities. I dropped the plan of going abroad to pursue my double masters and I choose to educate young minds and have an impact on the educational system in my country.

In order for the students and the teachers to become interested in math, it is important to engage them in a manner that makes them part of the learning process.

In the year 2020, I joined a private organization as a Creative content developer of Mathematics where I create creative lesson plans with resources such as UNO and Lego to transmit mathematical concepts. Ancient India was very rich in STEM, however, in modern day India, it is difficult for the parents to appreciate the importance of these subjects and hence the students are not opting for science and more so for mathematics. In order for the students and the teachers to become interested in math, it is important to engage them in a manner that makes them part of the learning process. In this regard, I started working on pedagogy on how to make Math fun and interesting for the students. As of now my work has had an impact on the syllabus and methods taught in classes for almost 10000 students and 1000 teachers across the Middle East and Asia. The work of my colleagues and me has now revolutionized the way math is taught in these schools, changing from the conventional chalk and talk way of teaching to a more unconventional way of teaching math through hands-on activities. Referring to the feedback we received, the students are taking keen interest in mathematics. I started from the small town Sitapur where I topped the district in 10th grade and today I am supporting teachers and students across the globe.

With luck on my side and with the passion for Math, I even participated in the online competition last year on the occasion of International Mathematics Day, planned by IDM (International Day of Mathematics) with the challenge to click a picture with the theme Mathematics for everyone. Out of 3200 photographs received from 90 countries, roughly 600 photographs were selected out of which 66 were from India with one of my clicked picture as well. 

I believe that lending a hand to children through effective and gentle communication and listening patiently to their concerns and thoughts assures them. This provides them with emotional and mental security which is essential during childhood as it is the basis on which their conduct depends in the future. Hence, I have now decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Creative Mathematics to contribute to the ongoing research in math education and pedagogy. My vision is to become a leading researcher in the field of math education, with a focus on the use of gamification and hands-on activities as a means of enhancing math learning and engagement along with making Math fun and engaging not only for the students but also for the teachers.

Posted by HMS in Stories
12
Apr
2023
Juliana Fernandes da Silva

Juliana Fernandes da Silva

Born in Goiânia, Brazil • Birth year 1986 • Studied Mathematics at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal • Highest degree PhD in Mathematics • Lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Occupation Assistant Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Through all my school years I have always felt that the more logical reasoning the subject involved, the more attention it would capture from me. I remember being the one helping out my colleagues preparing for math exams and being supported by others with the subjects of social studies. Although as a child I enjoyed very much pretending I was a teacher, assigning the seats to the dolls, I grew up hearing that it was an underappreciated profession in my country, with which people usually feel overworked and underpaid. Even after finishing high school I was very resistant to choose mathematics and teaching as a career, but I finally decided not to walk away from my dream role. The only (probably naive) argument for that was that I have always enjoyed studying mathematics.

While adjusting myself to the new life in a very large city and struggling with the exams, this period was one of the toughest in my academic career but also the first step towards professional maturity in research/academia.

Only when I got to the university for my bachelor in mathematics, I realized that I could perform poorly in a math exam, which was unfamiliar to me. I accepted the challenge and worked hard to finally achieve good results, especially in the more abstract courses. Algebra was particularly demanding, with a very tough and inspiring female professor. She often provided us with a lot of extra reading materials and required us to attend extra lectures, jointly with her graduate students. But since she was always willing to provide us with assistance, I felt very challenged and also wanted to get along with her. That pushed me to put a lot more effort into my studies. As a result, I decided to pursue a Master’s degree in a different city, at one of the best universities in the country. While adjusting myself to the new life in a very large city and struggling with the exams, this period was one of the toughest in my academic career but also the first step towards professional maturity in research/academia.

The math-life balance also comes as a challenge, while trying to fulfill the pressure to be productive and achieve personal goals outside work at the same time.

My years of PhD and postdoctoral studies were used as an opportunity to perform my research under different scientific atmospheres, in some different centers in Brazil and abroad. The interaction with different research members and visiting fellows provided me with an enriching scientific experience, giving me the opportunity to engage in collaborations within my field of research. As luck would have it, I ended up having a very kind and talented professor working in nonlinear dynamical systems as my PhD supervisor. That period was, however, one of the hardest and exhausting periods of my academic life. Not only for the strong gender imbalance in mathematics but also for recurrently having no sense of belonging. The hard side of leaving the comfort zone, especially coming from humble backgrounds, is the general feeling that you are not as capable as your peers. At that point, one is also confronted with the fact that besides the technical scientific abilities, it is also necessary to manage other required skills of your career. Critical thinking, presentation and communication abilities, self-discipline, leadership and advising skills, among others, also came in handy. The math-life balance also comes as a challenge, while trying to fulfill the pressure to be productive and achieve personal goals outside work at the same time. All of that requires time, maturity and, more importantly, a great support in order to overcome the challenge.

In this journey, I realized that besides the urgency of creating an equitable world in the near future, where underrepresented groups don’t have to deal with biases in and outside the workplace, it is also crucial to find a stimulating and safe environment to work in. To do so, it is very important to be surrounded by like-minded peers and colleagues you can trust to talk about the work and insecurities inside academia. Taking advantage of all professional and personal opportunities and resources is also essential.

Posted by HMS in Stories