tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post4419144669790217786..comments2024-02-16T02:33:19.686-06:00Comments on Angles of Reflection: ISEF Question: Do math contests decrease math research?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post-13558450945847791012012-06-19T18:13:17.118-05:002012-06-19T18:13:17.118-05:00Content overlap -- depends, but I'd say fairly...Content overlap -- depends, but I'd say fairly high. Many of the math research projects I saw at ISEF were advanced work that could have grown out of summer experiences in number theory, game theory, etc.<br /><br />People overlap -- I think the first three basically cater to a single group of people, more or less. And, again, relatively few of those wind up in the last category.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06229409608226714166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post-47329051682927523322012-06-07T10:02:33.401-05:002012-06-07T10:02:33.401-05:00In my first year of teaching, I was handed the Mat...In my first year of teaching, I was handed the MathCounts/MathLeague extracurricular assignment. I was quite terrible at it. I just could not get excited about solving a bunch of clever puzzles quickly, and frankly I had (still have) no idea how to make kids better at it.<br /><br />I handed it off like a hot potato as soon as I could.<br /><br />What I don't know is whether any of my Math League kids could have been recruited to a more in-depth researchy sort of extracurricular activity (for which I would have been an excellent leader!) Perhaps they don't conflict so much as attract different types of kids-not just on the dimension in your hypothesis 4, but on their math personalities. Some of us are sprinters, thriving on the quick bite-sized challenge. Others enjoy the weeks of work that lead to a big-picture sort of breakthrough.<br /><br />Nice observation, and thanks for posing the question.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post-69196936736826689932012-05-25T11:45:57.106-05:002012-05-25T11:45:57.106-05:00I just noticed the "Math in the News" an...I just noticed the "Math in the News" announcement at http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/?pa=mathNews&sa=view&newsId=1302. Of the five students mentioned for Intel STS, one was a participant in the USAMO and IMO. <br /><br />A question that I have is what is the overlap of the different areas of math enrichment that you identified?<br />* Math contests / Math team<br />* Summer math program<br />* Math circle<br />* Math research projectJapheth Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314060401914172768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post-16109459162125021402012-05-19T06:35:33.385-05:002012-05-19T06:35:33.385-05:00So a larger sample yielded several students who di...So a larger sample yielded several students who did do contests and summer programs. Still, many of the most creative projects I saw at ISEF were from students who DON'T attend super-rigorous schools. I'll chalk this up as partial support for the RTN theory.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06229409608226714166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537830633228785974.post-74414323447709789972012-05-16T17:23:26.682-05:002012-05-16T17:23:26.682-05:00PJ - That's an interesting observation, but I&...PJ - That's an interesting observation, but I'm not extremely surprised by these students not doing math contests. High school math contests, at least through the AMC level - and I hesitate to say AIME, but I think so - involve questions that do not take a lot of deep persistence to answer. The message is: solve as many as you can and move on. <br /><br />Summer programs should open the door to more, perhaps in a summer camp many high schoolers are learning how to write proofs and learning about deep exciting ideas in math (say, group theory, number theory), that took a long time to develop and they would not come to on their own. A professor in grad school once told me, "At first, I did not publish anything because I thought my results were not as beautiful as the theorems in complex analysis. Then I realized that the work that I was comparing myself to was developed over the course of 100 years." Do the kids get this feeling, too? <br /><br />I know some do graph theory, which doesn't fit this way of looking at things, so it's not perfect.<br /><br />Comments from those more closely involved with high school math camps?<br /><br />Hypothesis Generating Question #5: Who mentored you in your work?Andrew M-Onoreply@blogger.com