Award Status: SEVA Award
Category: Documentary
Grade Level: 7-8
Program Title: UC Davis Math Circle
Producer(s): Ethan Ho
School: Toby Johnson Middle School
School District: Elk Grove USD
Program Idea: My SEVA idea came about when I participated in UC Davis Math Circle. I realized that in the math curriculum taught in most schools, the focus is on memorizing formulas and steps that can only solve one type of problem, most of the time without understanding why the formulas work. My ideas were confirmed when I looked online and found Dr. James Stigler, who did many studies on the way math is taught in schools all around the world, especially in Asian countries. His research showed that Americans did much worse in math than students in other countries.
Message: My SEVA entry aims to show students and teachers that math is not just a series of steps to follow. I also wish to show how the problem of students in the United States not being proficient in math can be addressed by teaching kids to think and struggle in math through programs like UC Davis Math Circle and Junior Math Circle.
