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Journal of Math Circles

Biographical Sketch

Amanda Landi is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Bard College at Simon's Rock, since 2015. She earned her PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University in 2015. Amanda's research has three main focuses: the mathematics of data science, mathematics education, and data for good topics. Amanda has worked with MAGPIES since the very first semester as part of her effort to reach and encourage a broader audience to pursue mathematics studies.

Lauren Rose is a mathematics professor at Bard College in upstate NY. In addition to teaching throughout the mathematics curriculum, she mentors and trains Bard undergraduates to do math outreach and to conduct pure math research. She is the founder of MAGPIES: Math & Girls + Inspiration = Success, co-organizer of the Julia Robinson Math Festival Community Math Circle, and was selected as a 2022 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics. Her main goal in life is to make deep mathematics fun and accessible to as many people as possible.

Jazmin Zamora-Flores graduated from Bard College in 2021 with her Bachelor's of Arts in Mathematics. Jazmin continues to work with the MAGPIES program to this day.

Cathy Zhang is a graduate from Bard Academy at Simon's Rock, and she is currently a first-year college student at Bard College at Simon's Rock. Cathy expects to graduate with her Associate of Arts in May 2023.

Shea Roccaforte is currently a graduate student in the Master of Accountancy program at the University of New Mexico. She graduated from Bard College in 2021 with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Mathematics. She is passionate about making math accessible to all and sparking curiosity in young girls. She believes in bringing people skills to a technical industry. Shea loves using critical mathematical thinking through puzzles and games—especially the Rubik's cube. Shea continues to work with the MAGPIES program to this day.

Julia Crager is a student at Bard College, class of 2023. She is majoring in Mathematics.

Abstract

During the academic year 2020-2021, we ran a virtual math outreach program for upper elementary and middle school girls, MAGPIES: Math & Girls + Inspiration = Success. Monthly sessions were held over Zoom, beginning with a short introduction by a guest presenter, followed by breakout rooms led by undergraduates paired with more experienced facilitators (upper division and graduated math majors and volunteer math educators). The online community was created purposefully to be an inclusive and collaborative environment for the attending girls, and the lessons were designed to provide a learning experience for all levels of participants. Examples of sessions include Mathematics and Voting and a mathematical exploration of the card game SET®. Math major coordinators contributed to MAGPIES in numerous ways, such as helping to develop materials, running the Zoom sessions, social media management and website development. We held training sessions prior to each workshop, which consisted of preparing volunteers to use the tools of Zoom (e.g., breakout rooms, chat, annotation, whiteboard), as well as introducing the mathematics and the specifics of the lesson plan. In this article, we illustrate the impacts of this program by focusing on the voices of the community members who have been with us for significant portions of the MAGPIES journey.

Description of Program

MAGPIES: Math & Girls + Inspiration = Success is virtual math outreach program for upper elementary and middle school girls. Monthly sessions are held over Zoom, beginning with a short introduction by a guest presenter, followed by breakout rooms led by undergraduates paired with more experienced facilitators (upper division and graduated math majors and volunteer math educators). Our goal is to create a safe space for girls to experience the joy of mathematics in a collaborative and inclusive setting.

email: magpies@bard.edu

website: bardmagpies.org

location: Bard College Center for Civic Engagement, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504

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