Math Community Guide: BSU Math Teachers Circle

Bridgewater State University is the epicenter of teacher preparation in Southeastern MA. The BSU MTC aims to foster an inclusive community of K-12 and post-secondary educators in our region built around the collaborative process of problem solving and experiencing mathematical joy and fun together. This is an inclusive math circle that welcomes teachers from a variety of levels and backgrounds, where everyone is able to bring their full self to the community and contribute positively. We value the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives and aim to learn from and support one another.

The BSU Math Teachers Circle will meet for 2 hours, roughly once per month on a Saturday morning during the school year beginning in Fall 2024. We focus on "low floor, high ceiling" problems that allow for exploring rich mathematical ideas in a fun and low-stakes way. At the same time, we allow math teachers who have similar goals to connect with each other and build a community around problem solving. These activities may also count as PDPs for the teachers involved (email rstahl@bridgew.edu for more information).

At the BSU MTC, we will explore rich, interesting problems that are easy to state, but not easy to solve! For instance, you can try the following problem:

Consider the product of the number 99....9 (a 92-digit number, all 9's) times 22....2 (a 92-digit number, all 2's). After multiplying these together, what is the sum of the digits in the resulting number?

For more examples of the types of problems we explore at our workshops, see our puzzles page!

BSU MTC Leadership Team

• Ms. Morgan Brown (Math Teacher, Carver Public Schools)
• Professor Karen Duseau (Assistant Professor, BSU Math Department)
• Dr. Stephen Flood (Associate Professor, BSU Math Department)
• Dr. Shelley Stahl (Associate Professor, BSU Math Department)
• Dr. Matthew Salomone (Associate Dean, BSU Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics)

For more information, contact Dr. Shelley Stahl at rstahl@bridgew.edu

For Frequently Asked Questions, please see our FAQ page (https://library.bridgew.edu/campus/mathematics/bsumtcfaq).

Our October event focused on the mathematics of voting. Here are a few resources that might be helpful if you would like to work with your own students on voting!