In this week’s webinar recap, Minerva Schools at KGI professor Ben Richard talks to audience members about how students can get more interested in Math and STEM

The American Center for Math Education (ACME) concluded its first of five January webinars on Wednesday. If you were unable to attend the event, no worries! This webinar recap will bring you up to speed on all of the educational and informative topics that were covered. 

The host of this webinar was Ben Richard, a professor at Minerva Schools at KGI. In addition, he also holds a Ph.D in Theoretical Physics and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics. During Professor Richard’s presentation, the topic and focus revolved around how to get students more involved in Mathematics and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related fields. 

Obviously, Mathematics and STEM courses contain challenging material that will take some individuals extra time and effort to grasp. As either a parent or an aspiring student, you hope that you or your child will acquire the skills needed to be successful in one of these fields in the future. 

That is the exact reason for why Professor Richard created this presentation. He wanted to provide both parents and students with a roadmap and advice guide on how to not only thrive, but also have fun in Mathematics and STEM. 

Promoting Inclusivity

Professor Richard began the webinar by talking about the concept of inclusivity. Arguably the most important aspect to getting more people involved in Mathematics and STEM. Because Mathematics and STEM are hard subjects to master, it naturally steers some individuals away from these fields. Professor Richard explains that his main goal is to create an environment where Mathematics and STEM can be for everyone. 

“We could be turning down the next Einstein because we did not create the right environment,” Professor Richard said. “The last thing I want to do is discourage the students. I do not want to make them feel like we have a lack of confidence in them.” 

One way how Professor Richard helps promote inclusivity in his classroom is by structuring the curriculum around asking questions and active learning. He does not want students to feel afraid to ask questions during class because understanding the material at hand is crucial for being able to grasp the concepts in future lessons. 

“If students are asking questions, engaging with the material, and collaborating with one another. Then it will make them feel like there is truly a more inclusive environment,” Professor Richard said. 

Furthermore, this strategy of creating an active learning environment will enable the students to have more practice with the material and boost their chances of understanding it. This in turn will attract more people into the Mathematics and STEM fields while at the same time not sacrifice the hard work it takes to succeed. 

Exposing Students to Different Fields and Subjects

A second strategy that Professor Richard uses to get students more interested in the material is through exposing them to many different specific subjects of Mathematics and STEM. The scope of Mathematics and STEM is extremely broad and can branch off into many different jobs and careers. 

“I want students to love what they are doing and to have no regrets,” Professor Richard said. “If I can help students make an informed decision when it comes to a career choice. Then I have completed a decent chunk of my job.” 

In order to expand on this point, he states that he also likes to connect the work that is done in Mathematics and STEM to entirely different fields such as business, law, and politics. An example he uses is regarding the role of politicians. 

One of the roles of politicians is to determine how much funding each school subject receives from the government. Professor Richard notes that as a political advisor with a deep background in Mathematics or STEM. That advisor can then assist in adequately funding these subjects and ensure that students have the resources needed to succeed. 

“It’s not like everyone is interested in becoming a researcher,” Professor Richard said. “But their job still may require a solid foundation in STEM and they will play a crucial role in society.”

Utilizing Computer Science Programs

A final strategy that Professor Richard uses to help boost interest in Mathematics and Stem is through taking advantage of computer science programs such as Mathematica and Python. These software packages can be extremely useful in giving students a visual interpretation of mathematical and STEM equations and functions. 

An example that Professor Richard used was the concept of cars coming towards each other at different speeds. Through utilizing these different software programs, he was able to animate this particular scenario and watch it in real time. 

Professor Richard accomplished this through plugging in the math formulas and coordinates into the software so that the desired result was achieved. In addition, he noted that Python can be used to change the code of the animation to fit your needs. 

“The hope is that with this visualization I will get a better understanding of what is going on and it will help me solve the problem,” Professor Richard said.

Wrap Up

Overall, this webinar went smoothly and was a huge success. The audience who attended were engaged and were able to ask questions to Professor Richard at the end the presentation. 

The next webinar that the ACME will be hosting is on Saturday, January 16th from 5:00pm-5:30pm Pacific Standard Time. The speaker for this webinar will be Quanlin Chen, a U.S. IMO team member and 2020 IMO Gold Medalist. If you would like to register for this webinar or any of the other ones that the ACME will be hosting in January. You can register by clicking the link here.

ACME Official Website

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