Math Fair: First time in KSA
Dr. Faiza’s
Internationals Students’ Math Fair was the first ever Math Fair or anything like it, organized
for the student and parent community of International Program American Division
(IPAD), at AlTarbiyah Namoudthjiyeh Schools, AlRayyan.
It was held on Saturday 11 May 2013 // 1 Rajab 1434H at 10:00
am with entry by invitation only.
Dr. Faiza Abdul Qayyum, initiator of the concept and chief
planner and organizer, is a qualified and experienced educator working in the
Kingdom for the past 12 yrs. She holds a PhD degree from a US university in Activity-based
learning. Mrs Eman Khalid AlMegrin, Principal of middle school AlTarbiyah
Namoudthjiyeh AlRayyan, says “Dr. Faiza has been a versatile and dedicated
educator. We are very lucky to have her as part of our school.”
“I am thankful for the management for giving me the
opportunity to organize such an event with a free hand, trusting me to do what
is best.” said Dr.
Faiza
The math fair was managed completely by students; there were
20 stalls each with different math games and activities presented in English by
the grade 7 and 8 girls. Over 50 students took part and they were all well
prepared and confident, and engaged their audience with poise and clarity.
There were many mothers and they all played the games and had
fun.
Mother Amal AlSughaiyr, also a member of Parent Council, “The
festival (Math Fair) was magnificent, entertaining and multiple. It combines
simplicity and difficulty and some depends on cleverness and some about luck. I
also noticed the big effort from Dr. (Ms) Faiza through the big encouragement,
cooperation and hard working between students as one team and supervising them
during the workshop (Math Fair) till they finished. I noticed the excitement of
the students during explaining the game and execution, prizes and hospitality
presented by them. Thanks to all those who were behind this big effort “Math
Fair” and special Thanks to
Dr. (Ms) Faiza and I’m expecting more surprises.”
Dr. Faiza said, “This was a noteworthy effort of my middle
school Saudi students. I am proud that we were able to organize a Math Fair,
first of its kind, unique in all aspects and not at all like a regular math
fair in US nor it was like the conventional exhibition of math projects.”
“I developed it to be an interactive teaching &
learning platform to promote the importance of problem solving skills in
math and to involve students in their own learning.” Dr. Faiza added.
Mrs Eman AlMegrin, the Principal, “A math fair is an
amazing idea and new concept in the Kingdom. I thank the teacher and students
for doing such a brilliant job!”
Margaret Atkinson, International Schools manager at IPAD,
judging the event, said, “Maths was brought to Life!! We saw problem
solving, creativity and thinking skills in action. Every stand was different
and explored and demonstrated understanding of a different concept. These are
our priorities in international school and we really experienced what
international school should be. We saw learning made active and relevant.”
Dr. Faiza’s International Students’ Math Fair, was more than
an exhibition of mathematical talent of our Saudi students. They had mastered
their mathematical concept and developed them into games of their own to give the
honored judges, guests and other students, an awareness of how we use math in
daily lives knowingly and unknowingly.
The projects dealt with wide range of math and life topics
such as Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry, Probability, Statistics, Finance &
Economics, shopping & budgeting, Sports, Interior Decoration, Household
math, Area, Perimeter & Volume-Spaces, eating out at restaurants &
burger outlets, mathematical tricks and puzzles. The 20 projects developed at
the Math Fair were named: Fun of Mathematics, Math Minds, Sally’s Messy room Problem,
Math Market, Math Sport Club, Magic Square, Tangram & Polygon Tic-Tac-Toe, Math
Neighborhood, Operations Order, Real-Life Order: Life Problems, Birthday
Paradox, Angles-Triangles puzzles & tricks, Mathe-Magic tricks, Mathematical
Space: volume, Math Code—Decode, Probability & Sample Spaces, Line Plots
& Square Roots, Tessellations and Mental Math.
One group project was very unique, called “The Mathematical
Miracle: The Holy Quran” This group researched to confirm a US based research (initially
done in 1970s) and revived research in 1992 in Tuscan, Arizona. This stall by
far had the most number of visitors and all of them left in great admiration and
wonderment.
The first ever Math Fair in Saudi Arabia was an absolute accomplishment
of the main objectives of education at IPAD and with utmost success it became
an instant hit with the mothers and participating students. Even after 2 &
half hours, all involved did not want it to end!
Student Dalal Abdullah of 7A, and Math Fair participant,
said, “I had such great time doing the Math Fair specially when I told the
mothers ‘First Math Fair in Saudi Arabia’. They get surprised, how the mothers
laughed and enthuse made me really excited to do more and more. I learned how
to act official and more respectful to the mothers. The Math Fair taught me how
to calculate faster with a calculator. I spoke to some mothers in Arabic also
but speaking to most visitors in English was thrilling. I was sad it was only
for few hours. I thank my Teacher Dr. Faiza and School to give us this
opportunity.”
The event had three awards as “Most Innovative Project” (best
presentation of a mathematical concept as a feature of life and daily routine).
This award had a tie; won by two projects, namely: ‘Sally’s Messy Room’, and
‘Angles-Triangles puzzles & tricks’.
The other award being the “Most Logical Project” (best mathematical
concept researched and developed to be fun to learn). This was won by the
‘Mathe-Magic Tricks’.
The third award was the “Most Popular /Fun Project” (best
project in which visitors had most fun with math as well as the game). “Tangram
& Polygon Tic-Tac-Toe” won the popularity award.
Some of the teachers attending the Math Fair enjoyed it
immensely. Ms. Sumaira, English Teacher, said, “The Maths Fair was very
good. All the students were engaged and had practical well. The information
given by the students was clear and concise. Overall I enjoyed it”.
Another teacher, Ms Sarah, remarked, “The Fair was
all-round engaging & enjoyable. It incorporated different learning
strategies- the communicative approach was a fine example of task-based
learning: students presented exhibits involving math as it is used in real-life
situations—for instance how to organize your room or buy groceries. It was
clear from the students’ explanation and demonstration of math problems that
they have grasped core math problem –solving skills and math concepts. This
coupled with their sound presentation skills, I imagine, will prove to be a
stepping stone to their attitude towards success in future mathematics classes
in particular and real-life situations that require analytical logical thinking
in general. I feel that the Math Fair was a resounding success in reaching out
to children & adults alike with the message that math ‘IS’ fun!”
Arabic Language Teacher, attending the Fair observed “It
was amazing and a very good idea.” The Computer Teacher said, “Math Fair
was wonderful and a very new idea. It shows a great effort by Dr. Faiza in
bringing this idea, then training, coaching and guiding the students for this
first time event. Dr. Faiza is an amazing teacher, her students are her shining
examples!!”
Dr. Faiza commented, “I was able to raise awareness of
opportunities for mathematics and statistics as a career in my girls and to
have maximum impact on life-long learning.
“My overall objectives were achieved through this event, firstly,
to ignite a spark of interest and likeness for a difficult and unpopular
subject such as Mathematics.” she said.
“And secondly, to be an exciting day for the students &
visitors involved, while teaching them mathematical topics not typically
included in a traditional school curriculum and linking the math they do know
with the world they live in,.” Dr. Faiza added.
We would like to give many thanks and congratulations to Dr
Faiza and the students of IPAD and their team for their hard work and
creativity at the Math Fair.
The event was a complete success and we hope to see more like
it in the future.
Objectives achieved:
- The Math Fair was an exciting, memorable experience for the students, mothers, and teachers.
- Students gained a new perspective of mathematics beyond what they have learned.
- Students were able to see applications of mathematics in a wide variety of areas.
- Students gained appreciation for the art and science of mathematics.
- Visitors and students learned about a new topic in mathematics and learn what it takes to prepare and deliver a successful presentation to others.