Journal of Math Circles
Volume 4, Issue 2 (2025) Special Issue: Kaplans
Articles for current special issue
The Impact and Legacy of the Kaplans
Craig Daniels
As we conclude this special issue on the Kaplans, we want to leave you with some reflections on their legacy. Craig Daniels attended seven week-long Math Circle Institutes organized by Bob and Ellen Kaplan at Notre Dame between 2009 and 2016, and was inspired to lead his own Math Circles for many years. Craig collected comments from many people who knew the Kaplans.
Bob and Ellen Kaplan's Brazilian Adventure: O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil
Angels Varea
Bob and Ellen Kaplan deployed their boundless energy to spread The Math Circle word in Brazil in what they called their “Brazilian adventure.” They are the inspiration for the project O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil and participated wholeheartedly in its implementation, travelling to Brazil six times over five years to train teams of young Math Circle leaders that taught over twenty-seven thousand underprivileged children within the framework of the project.
Bringing Math Circles into New Mexico Classrooms: An Interview with James Taylor
Amanda Serenevy
In this interview, conducted on December 14th, 2022, James described his math outreach journey and the many members of the Math Circle community who helped him along the way.
The Kaplans’ Influence on the History of Math Circles in the US: an Interview with Tatiana Shubin
Rodi Steinig
Tatiana Shubin [1] was among those who pioneered Math Circles on the West Coast of the United States in the 1990s. She continues to innovate and pivot to make the Math Circle message and experience accessible to all. At the 2021 Circle on the Road conference, Tatiana Shubin presented the talk “Math Circles: A Quick Early History,” and the recording is archived on the Math Circle Network webpage [2]. In the spring of 2022, Rodi Steinig interviewed Tatiana to discuss this talk through two lenses. First, the lens of the role the Kaplans played in the broader history of Math Circles in the United States (see the article on this topic in the Notices of the AMS [3]). Second, the lens of the three aspects of the Journal of Math Circles: math, math community, and problem solving --- especially mathematical engagement and habits of mind. In this article, Tatiana talks about how Bob and Ellen brought people together in community to re-frame the thinking of everyone present.
Corresponding with the Kaplans
Rodi Steinig
Readers of this journal have asked to hear the Kaplans’ voices: their tone, the way they were able to contextualize math questions, their generosity, and their joy. We think it’s important to share a few of these hundred-plus emails so that readers can feel that tone.
The Kaplans’ Math Circle Method
Amanda Serenevy
This essay explores what is meant by "The Socratic Method" in classical and modern times and examines the extent to which the Kaplans employed it in their Math Circles. We offer an imagined dialogue between the Kaplans and their students on the same mathematical subject explored by Socrates and the slave boy in Plato's dialogue \emph{Meno} to illustrate how the Kaplans might have handled that topic
The Joy of Participatory Learning: The Math Circle
Peter Flom
Peter Flom was inspired to write this blog post after visiting the Kaplans' Math Circle in Boston.
The Sunday Math Circle
Nathan Pflueger
Bob and Ellen Kaplan envisioned and organized a style of math circle centered on the idea that children of all ages can work like mathematicians do: creatively, collaboratively, and ecstatically. This article surveys four sample topics covered during a Sunday morning math circle in the Boston area, based on Bob and Ellen's invaluable guidance. I also offer some reflections on what I learned from Bob and Ellen, and how it is reflected in these math circles.
The Polymathematician
Leo Goldmakher
In loving memory of Bob Kaplan, the wisest and most inspiring seven-year-old I’ve ever met.
The Pedagogical Lineage of the Kaplans and its Future
Taylor Yeracaris
This article describes the origins of Bob and Ellen Kaplan's Math Circle, one of the first Math Circles in the U.S. It covers Bob and Ellen's personal histories and some of the wide-ranging impact of their work and philosophy of teaching. It also discusses how the current form of their organization, The Global Math Circle, is working to carry forward their legacy, including building community and supporting Math Circle leaders with the Nexus project.
Introduction to the Special Issue Honoring Bob and Ellen Kaplan
Amanda Serenevy and Rodi Steinig
In 1994, Bob and Ellen Kaplan embarked together with other friends and colleagues on a wonderful adventure. Friends had lamented that there was a lack of high-quality math learning experiences for kids along the lines of the Math Circles offered in the former Soviet Union, so the Kaplans decided to do something about it. This special issue is dedicated to a remembrance of that adventure and its impact on the mathematical and personal development of many people.