MAGPIES: Making Math Fun, Accessible, and Collaborative
Each month during the past academic year, Amanda Landi, faculty in mathematics at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, has been meeting with middle school-aged girls via Zoom to drum up excitement—and teach new skills—in math.
It’s all part of Amanda’s participation in MAGPIES, a math outreach program founded by Lauren Rose, Associate Professor of mathematics at Bard College, and with support from the Bard Center for Civic Engagement. Lauren, who has taught at Bard College for more than two decades and has also taught at Simon’s Rock, has been doing math outreach since 2007.
When the COVID pandemic struck, Lauren decided to parlay some of the community engagement components of her college course on Puzzles and Games into an online program for young girls interested in learning more about math. "I’m a math proselytizer,” said Lauren. “My goal is to make math fun and as accessible to as many people as possible.” And so MAGPIES was born.
A typical virtual MAGPIES class.
The online program is geared towards 4th- through 9th-grade female-identifying students to explore math in a collaborative, inclusive setting. Led by Bard network faculty, including Lauren and Amanda, as well as Bard network students, the program aims to help students enhance their problem-solving skills, work on open-ended problems, and connect with peers who also love math challenges.
Approximately 25 girls join the online math circle each month from around the United States and the world. Meetings start with a 30-minute interactive presentation followed by a discussion and a break-out activity. Guest experts from outside the Bard network join too. Sydney Weaver, a speed cuber champion, even helped lead a session on Rubik's Cubes.
MAGPIES students and Bard network volunteers at the New York City Math Festival, sponsored by the National Museum of Mathematics.
Amanda noted that one core goal of the program is to increase representation in STEM, including more trans-, BIPOC-, and female-identifying young people. “We need more people with diverse experiences and knowledge to tackle these new problems.” She added that the experience has been rewarding because everyone involved has similar goals: “fostering interest in STEM, increasing retention of underrepresented people in the field, and enjoying the work.”
Six Simon’s Rock students have worked with the program to date, including Cathy Zhang ’21, who recently helped author a paper on the program that was submitted and is under review by the Journal of Math Circles. By partnering with the MAGPIES, college students are able to learn new math skills, organize events, design lesson plans, mentor middle-school students, and meet other math educators from around the world. All content and learning plans are designed directly by Lauren, volunteer educators like Amanda, and their undergraduate volunteers like Cathy. Topics span Math and Voting to Domino Necklaces and Bracelets, Girls Who Code, Graph Games, and more.
In June, MAGPIES partnered with the Julia Robinson Math Festival to host a virtual Girls Math JAM Festival exploring mathematical concepts through collaborative, interactive activities. And in August, Lauren, Amanda, Cathy, and several Bard College alumni participated in the New York City Math Festival, sponsored by the National Museum of Mathematics. They led math activities for all ages and were joined by Frances Stern, math educator and co-director of the Bard Math Camp.
For Lauren, the future of MAGPIES looks bright. The team is continuing to look at ways to streamline and sustainably expand their work. The dream is that MAGPIES will serve as a model to mentor other groups seeking to start their own outreach efforts, similar to Girls Who Code. Reflecting on MAGPIES’ efforts thus far, Amanda added, “it’s really cool to help create these connections—this new virtual world makes it easier than ever before.”
To learn more or to get involved, visit bardmagpies.org or email magpies@bard.edu.