Math Archives - The �鶹�� School

�鶹�� Math Team Heads to MMATHS Yale Math Competition

Yaelle — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 13:59:11 +0000

Eleven students from Yeshivat �鶹�� participated in the Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools (MMATHS) at Yale University on April 15. The competition is an annual event organized by students at Yale, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia and the University of Florida.

In addition to the tournament, the high schoolers also received a tour of Yale’s campus. To top of a fun day, Yogi Sragow ’19 earned second place (out of 50 students from different high schools) in the tournament’s individual round!

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Spotlight on the Math Department: Promoting Student-Centered Learning

Yaelle — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:53:10 +0000

By Sabrina Bernath, Math Department Chair

What does your average math class look like at �鶹��? Well, you might be hard-pressed to come up with a typical example. ��With over 36 different math classes being taught every day, no two are exactly alike. Yet one thing they all have in common is a curriculum-driven, student-focused mode of instruction. ��

One of the ways math teachers at �鶹�� reinforce key concepts is through the thoughtful use of technology, for the purpose of empowering students in their learning. For example, in one ninth grade Geometry class, the teacher used a game to help students learn about complementary and supplementary angles. Kahoot actively engaged every student in a game show-like competition, with no student passively sitting out of the lesson. ��Seeing how much the students enjoyed actively learning through this technological tool, the teacher then created a SMART Board presentation where students themselves – rather than the teacher – “cloned” images on the SMART Board to piece together the angles formed by two parallel lines cut by a transversal. ��The hands-on manipulation of the geometric shapes helped the students learn which of the angles were congruent. ��Since neither of these lessons was taught by frontal instruction, the two exercises gave the teacher real-time insight into how much the students understood. ��She did not have to wait until she collected homework or corrected their tests; both she and her students knew right then and there what their level of understanding was, and had the opportunity to work on learning the material with the help of their peers. ��

Another method of integrating technology in the classroom was successfully executed by a different teacher, in her Algebra 2 and Calculus classes. Using pre-created classroom activities, students explored new concepts using the dynamic graphing software, worked through a series of questions on their computers, and received teacher feedback and input from their classmates. In Algebra 2,��students developed the distance interpretation of absolute value inequalities and made connections between inequalities, verbal statements, number line graphs, and solution sets. ��This is an important skill for their high school math studies, and also crucial for further studies in any science field.�� Meanwhile, in Calculus class, students used a series of dynamic graphs to explore one-sided limits. ��They were then reminded of the definition of continuity and were asked a series of questions to assess their understanding of the definition. ��They could use the software to help develop their answers and get additional assistance from their classmates.�� With immediate feedback and real-time manipulation of the various equations and their respective graphs, the students quickly acquired a more nuanced and deeper understanding of the various factors at play in a graph.��They also got teacher feedback and input from their classmates.

Flipped learning is another wonderful way to create student-centered learning. ��In several Algebra 2 classes, teachers used videos to introduce the ideas of matrices. ��Playposit is a program which allows users to embed questions, polls, and reflective pauses into videos which they can then share with others. ��Watching the introductory Playposit videos at their leisure the night before the lesson allowed the students to learn the difficult concept of matrices at their own pace. ��The embedded questions forced them to reflect on the material being presented and also gave them the chance to replay parts of the video again if needed. ��Both teachers, who have taught Algebra 2 for years, marveled at how quickly all the students were able to show mastery of the skills the next day.

The �鶹�� Math Department looks forward to the remainder of the year. ��There is much to teach, and our faculty will continue to work on progressive and engaging modes of instruction with a goal of keeping the learning in the hands of the students!

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Math Conference at �鶹�� Welcomes Master Educator

Yaelle — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 04:20:15 +0000

�鶹��’s Math Department was privileged to host master��math and physics teacher Miguel Bayona from the Lawreneceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.�� Mrs. Sabrina Bernath, Chair of the Math Department, heard Mr. Bayona originally speak three years ago at a teaching conference at Rutgers. His expertise with Geogebra and incredible ability to show high-level application of the software in small, easily digestible steps made a lastly impression on Mrs. Bernath. ��When the department showed interest in learning more about Geogebra, she arranged for Mr. Bayona to visit �鶹��.

Mr. Bayona divided his all-day session into three parts: applications in Geometry, applications in Algebra, and then Advance Features of the program.�� It was a highly interactive lecture where the teachers and Mr. Bayona happily went off on tangents (pardon the pun!). ��Significant time was spent learning the various features related to Geometric exploration using the Midline Theorem as a starting point. For the algebra application part of the talk, the group investigated the properties of various polynomial and trigonometric functions. The teachers were also walked through the steps of how to create a customized tool.

Finally, after lunch, Mr. Bayona showed the group “Free Form” and “Function Inspector,” which are both functions unique to Geogebra that allow for spontaneity and endless exploratory options for the adventurous classroom teacher. With non-stop questions and many “ooohs” ��and ” aahs,” the teachers who attended the conference are excited and motivated to use this software in their classrooms in the coming academic year.

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�鶹�� Mathletes Participate in Elite Competition at Yale University

Yaelle — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 17:21:48 +0000

This past weekend, Mrs. Sabrina Bernath, the Chair of the �鶹�� Math Department, and a team of six juniors went to Yale University to take part in the “Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools” (MMATHS). MMATHS is an annual event organized by students at Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Florida. The goal of the competition is to “provide an engaging platform for high school students of all mathematics backgrounds to compete together and develop a deeper interest and appreciation for mathematics.”

Until this year, the MMATHS exam was given only on a Saturday but through the incredible efforts of Yale students Esther Issever, a freshmen, and Mitchell Harris, a graduating senior, students from Orthodox day schools were able to compete on Sunday.

What made this opportunity even more special was that the students and Mrs. Bernath were invited to be guests of the Slifka Center for Shabbos. All lodging was arranged by Esther and Mitchell and meals were sponsored by the Slifka Center. It was relaxing but busy Shabbos as the �鶹�� mathletes schmoozed with Yale students, learned from a scholar-in-residence from the Drisha Institute, played board games and ate amazing food.

After davening Sunday morning, �鶹�� was joined by teams from Yeshiva of Flatbush and Kushner. Each school had six students on their respective teams. In the first round of the competition, students worked individually and had seventy-five minutes to answer twelve questions.

Here is a question from the individual round:

“Let w, x, y, and z be distinct integers. Call an ordering statement any true statement of the form “a

As you can see from this question, this was no standard math test!

Next was the “mixer” round, where the teams were scrambled. ��Each of the new groups had seventy-five minutes to work on twelve challenging problems. ��The students quickly got down to business with the members of their new teams. It was evident that the students from different schools were bonding quickly over the tough problems as the room started to fill with laughter. Mark A. and Alyssa S. were members of the winning mixer round.

��An example of a question from the “Mixer” round is the following:

“On the back of this page, prove there is no function f(x) for which there exists a polynomial p(x) such that f(x) = p(x)(x +3) + 8 and f(3x) = 2f(x).”

The final round was the “Mathathon,” with the original school team working as a group on seven problems sets, each consisting of three questions. ��After completing a problem set, a runner brought up the team’s answers and got the next set of questions. It was a fast-paced round where the leading team changed minute to minute.

Additionally, the five strongest students from the individual round were sequestered during the competition and given a proof-based test as a tie- breaker to see who ranked the highest scorer among the three schools. Dov G., a junior at �鶹��, came in second place.��鶹�� lost by a small margin in the team category, but they were proud of their accomplishments in such a unique and elite competition and grateful to have spent Shabbat at Yale. It was an incredible and fun opportunity on many levels.

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Math Perspective: 2015-2016 So Far

Yaelle — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 19:56:59 +0000

Anyone familiar with �鶹�� knows that our week-long celebration, Shiriyah, is more than an elaborate color war. It is a multi-faceted festival run by the students, who create everything from wall murals and hallway installations to movies, songs, and dances that all highlight a Torah or otherwise Jewish theme. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn and work together on a grand scale outside the borders of their classrooms.

For �鶹�� teachers, the week during Shiryah gives us time to reflect on our progress over the past five months of the school year and begin working on our individual and group goals for the rest of the year. The math department held meetings to focus on two important topics: the changes in standardized tests and technology in our classrooms.

Mrs. Sabrina Bernath, �鶹�� Math Department Chair, ran the first meeting, which focused on standardized tests. Each teacher was presented with a thick packet of sample problems reflecting the type of questions being asked on the new version of the SATs. These questions have a greater emphasis on linear equations and graph analysis. The department members worked on these different sample questions and discussed how to help students improve upon these increasingly important skills. Teachers shared their various ideas about how to fit these types of questions into our comprehensive curriculum.

Additionally, the math teachers focused next on the various topics of the SAT 2 level 1 and level 2 subject tests. They closely examined the various types of questions on functions, conics, rational functions, sequences/series, and any other advance topics on each exam. Not only are the topics slightly different, but the emphasis on how to apply that material also varies.

This PD refresher on what our top-level math students need to learn to be successful on these exams was productive. While we are not solely prepping students for outside tests, it is important to keep in mind the various skills sets measured by these external assessments.

The second PD meeting of the department focused on three specific apps /programs different members of the department are currently using in their classrooms. Prior to the meeting, teachers completed surveys answering questions about the use of technology in their classrooms for administrative duties, instruction and assessment. Based on those results, various members of the department were asked to make presentations.

First, Mrs. Bernath showed the functionality of a rubric she created for her 12th-grade pre-Calculus class’s video project. The rubric is an embedded part of her Haiku gradebook—not only can she enter a grade using the various subsections of the rubric, but she can also leave comments for each criteria. Once the grade is made public, students can see their grades and comments from the teacher. The members of the department were excited by this enhanced feature and its possibility for extensive customization.

Next, Mrs. Katya Gourge, a new teacher, showed her incredible creations using Geometer’s Sketchpad. Ms. Gourge makes unique demonstrations to teach her 9th- grade Geometry students many of the most difficult properties and theorems of the course. Her one-of-a-kind creations help students visualize the theorems and ideas of the course. Her skill set with the program is impressive and the members of the department immediately requested further PD time to learn more about this incredible program.

Finally, Mr. Michael Gatto, another new teacher at �鶹��, highlighted key features of GeoGelgbra, a free, Web-based program that helps students visualize topics not just from Geometry but all areas of mathematics. Teachers also requested extensive PD later this year and into the summer to learn more about this program. When the meeting ended after an hour, several teachers continued the discussion in another location and Mr. Gatto continued teaching several other math teachers how to use GeoGebra in their classrooms.

As we begin winter break, �鶹��’s math teachers are already looking forward to returning and employing the various new things they’ve learned during Shiriyah.

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New Technology Incorporated into �鶹��’s Math Department

Yaelle — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:34:45 +0000

In many classrooms, teachers formally assess students’ performances during the learning process to modify teaching and learning activities to help students reach their utmost potential. These assessments are often difficult to administer and grade in a timely fashion, however, without the assessment’s initial purpose getting lost.��, a new website that I learned about during the ISTE conference this past summer, has transformed the way in which I assign and grade formative assessments. “Formative” is a user-friendly website that allows teachers to create original or embed preexisting material into short assessments. A simple quiz, for example, takes only minutes to create.

The true beauty of “Formative,” though, is the ability to grade and send feedback about students’ results in real-time. In the short time that I have implemented the site into my classroom, students were excited about receiving their scores and feedback instantly—instant gratification, if you will. As a teacher, I find it��exhilarating��to see and grade students instantly because they are able to quickly realize what their strengths and weaknesses are, and modify their learning accordingly. The first time that I launched the website, I showed the collective results from the class on the SmartBoard, capitalizing on the pulsing excitement in the room.

I’ve been in constant contact with the founders of since my discovery of the website, including participating in a private Google Hangout with one of the site’s primary founders, tweeting with them on Twitter, and live chats with where I have asked specific questions and received timely and informative responses via email. I look forward to using this program throughout the year, tracking my students’ progress in a more efficient and exciting way, and becoming more familiar with the site to maximize its components to the greatest benefit to the students.

Mrs. Shira Teichman

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Geometry and Gemara: Integrated Learning at �鶹��

Yaelle — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 19:55:21 +0000

Mrs. Teichman and Mrs. Katz from the Math department designed an integration lesson for their 9th grade geometry class which combined the theoretical principles of Geometry and its practical applications in Halacha. They invited Rabbi Jaffe to come give a shiur on parts of Gemarah that use the geometry that the students had recently learned. The integration lesson focused on building an eruv and how the Halacha uses the area of squares and circles to determine the distance that one is allowed to walk on Shabbat. Rabbi Jaffe also explained how trigonometric functions were used to see if a seafarer was considered close enough to the city to be allowed to continue traveling on Shabbat. As Rabbi Jaffe spoke, the students were focused on a complementary activity of filling out guided worksheets pertaining to the lesson, and were equally excited to share a 3-5 sentence response email with Mrs. Katz and Mrs. Teichman as a follow-up assignment. This is the second year that they have presented this integration lesson which has been described as both energizing and relevant.

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Spotlight on: Math

Yaelle — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:15:53 +0000

While things might be chilly outside the �鶹�� math department is far from hibernating. ��Besides the exciting teaching occurring in a typical school day, there is a great deal of math being explored both by our students and teachers outside of the classroom.

The �鶹�� Math Team has just taken the 5th out of 6 New Jersey math league contest exam. It is an annual series of contests which ask questions not typical in a high school math classroom. On this past exam one question was “ Suppose a hotel has rooms numbered 1- 14 and keys also numbered 1-14 BUT the room numbers and key numbers do not have to match. ��Instead, the keys are assigned to the rooms so that the sum of the room number and the key number is always an exact multiple of 3. ��How many ways can this be done?” ��Not your average problem …right? ��The answer is at the end of this blog. ��Many of our mathematically inclined cougars on this popular “ team” have been getting 6/ 6 on these contests which is nothing less than incredible considering that they only have 30 minutes each contest to complete all 6 questions.

Even students not on our “Math Team” are welcome to take the American Math Contest (AMC 10 and 12) later this month. ��The AMC is a 75 minute multiple choice exam to identify the very best math students in the country. ��The AMC 10 covers basic algebra and geometry. ��The AMC 12 covers all of high school mathematics with the exception of calculus. ��Those who qualify based on their scores in the AMC 12 are given the opportunity to compete in the International Math Olympiad. ��We hope �鶹�� will be represented!

Students are not the only ones busy outside of class time. The teachers of the math department are busy learning about the latest online math programs in their weekly tech meetings. ��They recently had an online session with a representative from KnowRe. ��This coming week they are having a representative from “Think Through Math” ��give an in-person presentation to our whole department. ��Texas Instruments and Ten Marks are other vendors they will be meeting in the Spring as they continue to explore the best online math platforms for our students.

Additionally, to continue to foster their own professional growth, several members of our department will be returning to New Brunswick this March to attend the 29th Annual “ Good Ideas in Teaching PreCalc and…” conference through the DIMAS Center, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, ��at Rutgers University. ��We are honored that our Math Department Chair Mrs. Sabrina Bernath has been chosen to present at this conference for the first time. Her topic is, “The Use of Technology for Differentiated Instruction in Algebra I and Algebra 2”. ��She is looking forward to sharing the successful and innovative approaches already being used at �鶹��.

Below is a picture from last year’s PreCalc conference at Rutgers of several �鶹�� math teachers. ��They loved being students once again!

��

It is only February so there is still a great deal more math in the coming weeks. ��Students and teachers are working hard to have our most productive and successful year yet. By the way the answer to the question about the hotel rooms and the keys is 345,600 but I am sure you already knew that.

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Blended Learning: The New Normal for Math at �鶹��

Yaelle — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 17:03:07 +0000

The math department at �鶹�� is using technology in exciting and educationally progressive ways. ��From real-time assessments to flipped classrooms, our students are being taught using various modes and the feedback and results have been wonderful.

Digital Storytelling: Math Style

In my and Mrs. Elissa Katz’s 12th grade Precalc classes, students have started creating short videos on various self-selected topics listed on a google spreadsheet ��The videos created will eventually become part of a video library future �鶹�� students who take Precalc can utilize. ��The students are graded based on a rubric provided by the teachers beforehand and the grade on the video correlates to a test grade.

is an excellent video by �鶹�� student Debra Paul ‘15 on solving for the roots of a quartic equation when given one root.

Students appreciate the opportunity for an alternative assessment and are honored to be part of the first of many future video libraries of �鶹�� math classes.

Feedback in Real-Time

In several of the 11th grade Algebra 2 courses, students were given a review sheet with a QR code for this past week’s test. ��After completing the problems on the sheet, students submitted their answers via the QR code and got immediate feedback of their grade on this mock assessment. The students’ scores on the review sheet were also emailed to the teachers who gave a participation grade which will then count towards the students’ average.

These juniors, many of whom have started studying for the SAT or ACT, have grown accustomed to practice tests and were happy to see that model reflected in their math course. ��The day of the exam, students commented that they felt relaxed walking into the test since they already had received quantitative proof confirming they knew the material. ��Other students liked the fact that they had prior knowledge of what to work on before the actual test. ��Often students don’t know the material as well as they think they do and the problem specific knowledge gained by the real-time assessment positively guided the rest of their review work

Flipping the Classroom

Additionally in a 10th grade honors algebra 2 course my students are starting to learn about piecewise functions from a “Show Me” video I created. Students were also given a worksheet modeled after the examples in the video to work on at home. ��The next class was used for further developing the topic rather than introducing it.

Self Check Quizzes

The ninth grade Geometry classes of Mrs. Katz, Mrs. Shira Teichman, Mrs. Debbie Stein and Mrs. Chanie Schlesinger have their own unique blended learning opportunities. ��The textbook they use has a rich online component. ��The students regularly are assigned online self-check quizzes which correlate exactly to the section and topic they are currently learning. ��The immediate feedback gives these students and their teachers are better understanding of what exactly the students understand and what they need further review on. It directly affects the pace and depth of the instruction specific to each class of students.

Differentiated Instruction

Through a grant from the Digital Jewish Network, the first blended learning platform used school wide at �鶹�� is now in its first year. About 200 students are enrolled in some way in a program created by Educaide. ��Two senior classes are in a college preparatory program which reviews skills from Geometry to Algebra 2 based on a student’s performance on an initial diagnostic test.

��This differentiated coursework helps prepare the students for future math placement tests at their respective colleges and university.

��Several 10th grade classes are enrolled in the program as an extra avenue for test review. ��The teachers create a custom problem set tailor to the topics on the upcoming test. ��The program gives immediate feedback to both the student and the teacher about their performance on the problem sets. Lastly, some of our students with greater challenges in the basics of math are enrolled in skill building courses which review and solidify basic algebra skills concurrently while they learn Geometry. ��It is truly differentiated education at its best.

Other 21st Century Tools

While as shown above there are many large scale blended learning initiatives taking place in the department, individual teachers are also branching out from the traditional reliance on just the textbook. ��Teachers are using , Smart Notebook Math Tools, the Ti Emulator among many other apps and programs.

Professional Development

With a strong emphasis on professional development particularly in the area of blended learning, the math department of �鶹�� bears little resemblance to class just a few years ago and is growing and advancing at a quick pace. ��There is still present of course the warmth, support, and humor that has always been a hallmark of the �鶹�� math department.

��Looking forward to future posts about more of the exciting adventures in �鶹�� math classes!

-By Mrs. Sabrina Bernath
Chair, Math Department

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Math Archives - The �鶹���� School

�鶹���� Math Team Heads to MMATHS Yale Math Competition