Raising A Mathematician Foundation

A series of inspiring and engaging articles, from teachers and parents about discussion on mathematics with children.

A new article out every Thursday.

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Expert Diaries: A Different Way of Thinking

A father asked his 7-year-old daughter about the times table of half, and she surprised him with a unique approach. Using time measurements, she calculated the fractions, highlighting the importance of understanding how children think. This experience inspired the father to explore new ways of teaching fractions. The incident underscores the value of listening to young minds.

Expert Diaries: Big breakthrough in AI system to solve problems in Geometry problems from International Mathematical Olympiad

With ChatGPT and similar systems developing to the extent of solving problems in numbers, I have always wondered how AI would solve geometry related problems. My question primarily came from heuristics. Usually if we have a problem with numbers, the AI can arrive at the solution possibly with a previous knowledge, trying to form equations, use brute force, etc.

Expert Diaries: Hands-on explorative learning in geometry

Is it possible or not possible? That was the question the students were trying to muddle with. The following write up is about how the learning experience changed the moment every child was given a chalk and board to write. Read on if you are interested in learning about active engagement in a math classroom…

Hints in Mathematics – Part 2

A child is working on a math problem since a long time but unable to solve it. Is it good to give them hints to solve the problem? Pause and think before you read ahead…

Why do we celebrate Mathematics Day on December 22?

Any occasion of celebration is many times a reminder or an opportunity to take up something. December 22 marks the birth anniversary of the self-taught genius mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan who left the world bewildered with his prodigious discoveries in a short span of his life of 32 years. His life is something that can leave us in awe and admiration. The math he discovered a century ago found its application in mobile phone signals 100 years later. What he claimed to see as revelations in Math have dumbfounded Mathematicians for neither he nor they could find a way in which one could arrive at that knowledge through the traditional means. It may not be an overstatement if we say that we can even get another Ramanujan in future.

Hints in Mathematics – Part 1

A 4-year-old is given a jigsaw puzzle. You see that the child has been trying to solve it since more than an hour. Is it okay to give the child a hint? What’s your take on this? Think about it before you read on.

Student Diaries: Expedition Through RAM TP 2022

I was coming from the dining hall after lunch when I got a note from my parents carrying good news. My calling day was only six days thereupon so they were supposed to write it. My father got an email saying I was one of those girls who were chosen for RAM TP based on performance at AG MNC (All Girls Math Nurture Camp). I felt like I was on cloud nine. I couldn’t even explain how delighted I was. I had to fill up a verification form and I completed it from the computer lab. It was after some days that my principal called me and the whole school complimented me for this selection and informed my parents…

Student Diaries: Crux of WARP

Wake up, grab a coffee, skip breakfast, and get on to today’s first lesson, Algorithm Prisoner’s Dilemma. I am Kalash, and I recently attended the Winter Applied Rationality Program (WARP) at Queen’s College, Oxford. It was the first time WARP was conducted and I was the only Indian student there. It is a part of the European Summer Program on Rationality, a sister camp to SPARC in the USA. Have you heard of Applied Rationality before? It’s about how to make more rational decisions, which eventually solved paradoxes, combined math with philosophy and cognitive science, and made our decisions ‘LessWrong’ (sic). It was my first time encountering this field and numerous others that came with it. In short, my experience in WARP 2022 has been exciting, self-reflective, and informative.

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview # 8 – Ishani Mukherjee

Born and raised in Chennai, India, Ishani Mukherjee has been trained for over 12 years in two distinct traditions of music – Western classical and Carnatic (South Indian Classical) music. She has performed in numerous halls and music festivals starting at the age of nine, and has won competitions both at the national and international levels, including The Hindu Margazhi Classical Music Competition. She has collaborated with multiple Bharatanatyam dance productions, and has accompanied renowned vocalists on stage. Over the last year, she has been exploring music composition, and has on occasion written music that borrows elements from both the Western classical and Carnatic idioms.

Mathematical Musings

Presenting a poem dedicated to his Math Teachers composed by a math enthusiast, Aniruddha. He is a RMO-OTP(2020) and RAMTP (2021) participant. This poem has won third prize in the Lilavati Contest organized by Institute for the Advancement of Vedic Mathematics (IAVM).

Student Diaries: Exploring the world of Epsilon

In April 2021, an email made its way into my father’s inbox. This was an exceptional email, which carried exciting news for its reader. My dad called out and showed it to me. It was an acceptance email from ‘Raising a Mathematician Foundation’ and ‘Epsilon India’, saying I had been selected for the first-ever online Epsilon India camp! I was overjoyed.

Articles: Parents’ Role In Making Math Enjoyable

Math is a highly misunderstood subject. While there may be many reasons for this, most often it is attributed to the traditional teaching methods in the school. Students may try to stay away from math due to the compulsion of memorization and following typical procedures. While these processes are not bad in themselves, due to changing times, there is a need to change the way math is taught. Another reason that makes students feel math as a confusing subject and develop a fear is due to the mixed messages sent by parents. While they want the kid to excel in math, they themselves project how they were bad in math when they were young. Unintentionally, such messages affect the performance and attitude of children in/towards math.

Article: Visual Mathematics

Is there a connection between math and art? Probably yes? Many think art is associated with geometry, but that’s not all! Training students visually in algebra, arithmetic, and number theory is also possible. Research says that helps a lot, as the different parts of the brain are utilized, leading to extra learning.

Article: On Math and Mindset

Have you ever thought you are not a math person at all? Have you been told that you cannot reach the “next level in math”? Then, this TEDx talk recommendation is for you. Jo Boaler speaks about different mindsets and how they affect your math learning. She also dispels a lot of myths and suggests a revolution in the field of mathematics education.

Camp alert!

Have a look into the latest upcoming summer math camp for teens!

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #7 – Disha Kohli Part 2

Last week, our discussion ended on a general note about the female gender in STEM areas. One of the biggest challenges which we face is breaking all these stereotypes and eliminating barriers for everyone to be able to do what they are passionate about.

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #7 – Disha Kohli Part 1

We are thrilled to have Disha with us! Disha is a (freshman?) at MIT who is into theoretical computer science, mathematics and a lot more! Through her middle and high school, she has consistently participated in math and computing competitions, and was inspired to develop a community “STEM for Girls by Girls” to support the educational cause of girls who face various societal stereotypes as well as financial issues. Disha is also an alumni and mentor at the Program in Algorithmic and Combinatorial Thinking (PACT) and continues to teach and inspire several girls to take up STEM. We are very excited to discuss so many things with you!

Expert Diaries: Do we overinvest in education?

Education has been and remains the big Indian dream. The growth of companies like Byju’s and WhiteHat Jr in the past decade only reiterates how much we value education. The purpose of this article is not to explore the positives and negatives of focusing on education but to understand why we are inclined to invest in education. Before we proceed, let us define what we mean by education here. Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits, and personal development

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #6 – Raghavendra Bhat Part 2

Continuing off from our previous conversation which ended on a high note with a discussion about teaching, and how learning and teaching do need to be more interactive in order to grasp the essence of the concept being taught. We are very eager to know much more about you and your thoughts about so many things! Let’s get started!

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #6 – Raghavendra Bhat

Raghavendra Bhat is an undergraduate student in his senior year at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is also an author, teacher and performer, having given talks and performed various math-magic-music shows! Currently doing research in analytic number theory, he is a really approachable and humble mentor for a lot of students!

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #5 – Ashwat Jain

Hello! We are delighted to have Ashwat Jain with us for this conversation! Ashwat is currently studying physics at Oxford University and has an incredible number of accolades and awards to his name! He is a recipient of the highly prestigious Oxford Reach scholarship, a two times KVPY fellow and the winner of a number of talent searches and competitions. He has also qualified the JEE Mains and attended the Astronomy Olympiad Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) thrice! He is also a great chess player, and an author of two poetic compilations – “Ashed” and “Ashes Burning”. We are very excited to discuss a number of things with you!

Expert Diaries: KG and PG math

KG and PG math are a lot more similar than you think!
All of us have experienced math education in school. A few may have enjoyed it. For a majority, however, it was more likely an ordeal. They had to work hard, because math was an ‘important’ subject and held the key to higher education and a career thereon. Despite the toil, most of us recollect very little of what we learnt at school, let alone apply it in our daily lives. We all have been through kindergarten math. Some of us still experience it vicariously through our children. A few may have studied math at postgraduate level or beyond. To a layperson, they represent the extremes of math education. Yet, surprisingly they have many aspects in common. One may even go so far as to say that KG and PG math represent the true spirit of mathematics as a discipline. ‘How?’ you may ask. Here are five arguments to support the claim:

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #4 – Aadityan Ganesh

Hi Aadityan! It’s a pleasure having you with us for this conversation. We are really excited to discuss more about your experiences with math theoretical sciences, CS, research and CMI!

Student Diaries: Discrete vs Continuous – Divided or Unified?

Over the centuries, human understanding of the universe has grown multiple folds, and along with it our sense of mathematics has adapted to our newer perspectives of the universe!

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #3 – Ananya Ranade

Hello Ananya! We are immensely privileged to have you with us! Having represented India in various international mathematical olympiads, you’ve brought glory to the nation by winning a Silver medal at the European Girls Math Olympiad (EGMO) and a Bronze at the coveted International Math Olympiad (IMO). We are extremely proud of your feats and would love to talk more about them!

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #2 – Sharvani Jadhav

A. Hey! I’m Sharvani, an 18 year old math enthusiast from Pune. I have qualified for the Indian National Math Olympiad four times, and also got selected in the CMI and ISI entrance tests. Hoping to pursue Maths and computing in IITs in the future! I am also a volunteer at RAM, and a teaching assistant for their Regional Math Olympiad Online Training Program

Insπring E^xperiences: Interview #1 – Saee Patil

Hi Saee! Thank you for joining us for this conversation. You are a recipient of the Spirit of Ramanujan fellowship and you have been part of programs like MathPath, PROMYS and PACT in the US! You have also qualified for the Indian National Math Olympiad and have been a teaching assistant for various programs of RAM Foundation, Epsilon India as well as PACT. Not just this, but you’ve also given talks at multiple events and camps, and motivated a lot of students and parents through your experience!

Parent Diaries: The Phantom ‘X’

Oh my! Did I hear it correctly? “MAAAAA———————–TH” – When I close my eyes – Algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus, ohhh ohhh ohhh!!!! I can feel a chill running all through my spine. Wait a minute! Let me tell you something – even today I dream that I have a math exam the very next morning and I haven’t prepared a single bit. Eyes open – Good Gracious Me! I am far from all these.

Parent Diaries: Murderous Math and Bad Choices!

Intriguing title, right? ‘Algebra = gunde gabra’ – translated from Telugu, it means the mere mention of the word algebra itself causes panic attacks. ‘Such seems to be the fear passed on from generation to generation that students tend to shut it off even before they begin to explore. So how do we break this chain?

Math Contest? I don’t know if it’s for me!

Are you thinking like this? Well, the answer to this is a simple ‘Yes, of course, it is for you’. Math contests exist to help you to improve the skills you already have and practice those skills on a different level.

Expert Diaries: Communicating Mathematics

Following is an article compiled from the notes taken during a session ‘Exemplifying and explanatory communication – two key tasks of teaching and a framework for their use in mathematics teaching’ delivered by Jill Adler, University of the Witwatersrand, SA, in a conference by Mathematics Teachers Association India (MTA-I) on 3^rd Sept., 2021.

Expert Diaries: Where do the children go?

A guide for parents on when to be vigilant during the school years of their children so that they do not lose their kids in the Mathematics Battleground.

Student Diaries: A place called heaven – IISc

What is your idea of heaven? The Quran describes heaven as a beautiful garden with nice people, where one’s wishes are fulfilled. As a kid, my idea of heaven was an endless summer vacation: no school, no classes, no homework; full freedom to explore whatever I wanted. Now, imagine getting paid a stipend every month to live in this heaven!!! That is what life in IISc looks like.

Student Diaries: A Journey to the Centre of Math.

Math is super fun and cool as long as you understand it. We both love math. Algebra is our favorite math topic, along with data handling and ratios. Sometimes we spend hours playing math based video games like Prodigy. However, we often hear from kids during online classes that they are bored or find everything confusing.

Student Diaries: Cryptography, Quantum & a dose of serendipity

The journey began towards the end of my 7th grade, a journey that I still traverse and one that brought me to where I am today. It is, in retrospect as I recall and as you will read, one of hard work, serendipity, and an ability to sense a good opportunity when it knocks.

Student Diaries: My memories of memorizing math

As is the case with anyone who was born in the 90’s, all grown ups would keep emphasizing on the importance of math. Of course, I did not have a problem with it, I absolutely love math.

Student Diaries: An expedition through the realms of the process and the result

A friend of mine recently shared with me a thought-provoking question which commenced a journey through the diverse domains of mathematics and other sciences: Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge. “The process of gaining knowledge is more valuable than reaching an end result.”

Mathematical Musings: The ABC’s of Indian Mathematics

In the latest post at APF is something fresh,
Vaageesan pens a poem with absolute finesse!
While we cant get even the first few lines to rhyme,
He pens with ease about math from ancient time!
Love how carefully with each word he treads,
We think this deserves even more reads!

Have a wonderful poetic read!

Student Diaries: Patterns, Walks and Childhood

I vividly remember my walking style when I was in primary school. It was hardly ever a straight-line walk. The tiles on the school floor brought to life a world of patterns- checker-like patterns, chess knight-steps, skipping over tiles, what not. I could not resist walking along these patterns! However, what I did not realise at the time was how deeply this was tied to Mathematics.

Online Training Program for Regional Mathematics Olympiad

Start your journey to crack the most prestigious of all the Mathematics competitions with Raising A Mathematician Foundation’s Regional Mathematics Olympiad Online Training Program (RMO OTP). Meet twice a week with expert teachers to tackle the rigorous course of study that is required for the Olympiads.

Student Diaries: My Journey – How I got into research and AI

Hello 👋. In this article, I will share my journey about how I got into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related research as a high school student and consequently, a couple of things I have learned that might help you as well. However, do note that this blog is not one about getting started with AI or research.

Student Diaries: The magical land of CMI

Hello, brave traveler of the interwebs! You have had a long journey so far. You have witnessed the vast lands of quora questions, sailed through the endless oceans of blogs, traversed the cold deserts of Facebook posts and trekked the high mountains of YouTube videos. I see, you are still unsatisfied. You have not found the answers you were looking for.

Parent Diaries: Visualizing the marvelous mathematical world

The period of lockdown was the most challenging time for students as well as for teaching professionals. Teachers struggl ed a lot wondering if each and every student was understanding whatever they taught and whether they were moving in the right direction to complete the course or not. Students also struggled to maintain the pace of coursework, overcoming the challenges of online classes, screen time and much more.While conducting lectures for my engineering students, I was unaware of a few (indirect) students of mine!

Expert Diaries: Scams, spams and fake news – how to deal with them using mathematical thinking?

Read an eye opening article by Vinay Nair where he articulately paints his own experiences and points out how conscious questioning and reading between lines can go far in life and how mathematical thinking helps to see clear through the doubts of emotions that clouds our mind in such crucial circumstances. Clearly a compelling read in such a scam-filled era.

Parent Diaries: An algorithm behind my daughter’s math journey

Mondays through Fridays are especially hectic in this Thane household. Mother is up by 5 am so that she can drop off her 10-year-old to school, then heading to the office and trying to wind up by 2 pm so as to pick her back from school and drive her to chess coaching. A group of parents waiting outside any activity class is a wonderful place for exchange of information and sharing resources related to children.

Student Diaries: The Poetic Process of Problem Solving

The moment you glance at any problem, familiar words start catching your eye : ‘remainder’ makes your brain replay all the Number Theory you have learnt at supersonic speed. You see the word ‘roots’ and graphs start forming, and curving up and down in your mind’s eye. ‘In how many ways’ gets you all pumped up as you instinctively search for combinatorial tools to use. ‘Tangent’ and ‘angle’ makes your hair stand up as you furiously begin drawing the diagrams.

Student Diaries: Thoughts on Research

Throughout middle and high school, math has been presented to me in three different flavours, so to speak: school math, competition math, and “real” math. School math is your typical high school sequence: algebra, geometry, trigonometry/precalculus, and perhaps calculus. If there’s one thing I have found unsatisfactory with these classes, it’s that they focus too much on rote learning of mathematics, without much sense of motivation or purpose.

Student Diaries: Math and Movies ~ A Bijection

It was a hot summer morning in the middle of May. I sat there on the classroom bench and I thought, “Hopefully today would be more action-packed than yesterday.” I say ‘action-packed’ because the life of an aspiring young mathematician is no less than a Bollywood Action film.How was yesterday, you ask? Well, we spent around 2 hours debating about the proof of a simple probability problem, so it was pretty eventful.

Student Diaries: Learning to Teach

From a very young age, I was very interested in Math. My Mother looked for camps and classes that would suit my interest. Five years ago, when I was 7, my Mother found out about Epsilon USA. When I went to Epsilon USA, it was a very fun experience. I learned a lot about Math. I worked together on homework with my friends, and played games with them during the night.

Parent Diaries: Survive

It was a hot summer afternoon and I was returning home from my children’s school in an autorickshaw. I felt a tremendous sense of relief and certainty about the most important decision I had ever made for my son. I had officially taken my son out of school. This trip from my son’s school, perhaps the biggest turning point in his education, is clearly etched in my memory.

Sibling Diaries: The journey from “threatful to treatful” – Math with my brother

Having a mathematically gifted sibling has been a boon as well as a bane for me. During my younger years, whenever he would discover a pattern in numbers, I used to get frustrated. Math was like a mountain for me. While I’d still be at the bottom, he would have reached the top. It bugged me that he was able to solve the questions from my ‘textbook’ despite him being five years younger than me.

Parent Diaries: Raising a Math Aficionado

It’s 10:30 PM, and you have just finished all your work and preparations for the next day, when you hear “Hey, I found a new conjecture; let me check if it is proposed by anybody before!” This is not surprising for a mom of a math loving teenager. We agree on a settlement and he goes to bed after texting his best friend about his discovery and deciding to meet to discuss it the next day.

Parent Diaries: Can children inspire adults?

In conventional education or customary schools, the learning design – the topics to be studied, the activities to be done, the design of the furniture, the displays on the walls – is all teacher centered delivery. That is efficient for students, receivers of information, but if we do it as a whole, we are depriving our students of opportunities to learn how to design their own learning curve for themselves

Parent Diaries: Stepping up for challenging rides

The beauty of nature’s creation is that each living being is unique. Though the characteristics of each human being are different, a right environment will facilitate development of skills that a person may not possess innately. Personally, I understood that parents should acknowledge that each of their kids is different and it is certainly wrong to compare their capabilities.

Student Diaries: Tinkering with Infinities

When I look back to the time I was not more than 8 years old, one of the things which appealed to me the most was nature and natural patterns. I had an inexplicable affinity towards things like petals of specific flowers, pictures of snowflakes and spirals. I thought of them to be beautiful in some sense, but could not describe it in words.

Student Diaries: My tryst with maths

I like to think that Maths was my best subject in school. My mother is an avid lover of math and logical thinking problems. She constantly encouraged me to explore and learn maths. Truth be told, I didn’t always have an affinity towards maths. I would find it quite difficult in primary school and would constantly try to put off studying maths.

Myths about Math!

What comes to mind when you think of the word math? If the associated words are numbers, symbols, formulae, rules, calculation, proof, logic, steps – then you fall in the majority of the population. And if ‘right answer’ is the image that stands out in your mind, then I am writing for you!

Parent Diaries: Quenching the mathematical thirst

It is said that when a child is born, a mother is born too. Nowadays we see that both parents take equal responsibilities in raising their kids, at times even complement each other very well while nurturing their little babies. In today’s world, I would like to modify this statement to say, when a child is born, parents are born too!

Parent Diaries: Math in the early years

When my son was about four and a half, we often took city buses and walked a LOT (we lived downtown at the time). So he was familiar with the idea of looking at bus numbers and enjoyed reading them. While driving to somewhere once, I noticed a bus in the next lane and pointed it out to him. This conversation followed –

Parent Diaries: The Parent Power

If you have ever read about the explosive growth that happens in the human brain in the early years of life, you will be marvelled at the innumerable capabilities that need to evolve. I am talking about ‘the normal child you are raising’. However, we do not appreciate it because we lack awareness. Just like how we did not value the ‘normal life’

Parent Diaries: Beyond the Books

Many years ago, my son was reading some concept in Science from an encyclopaedia and he asked me a few questions on that concept. I replied, “I don’t know”. He asked “Did they teach you this in school days? Did you learn it in the past? Did you understand and forget? Or was it that you never learnt this at all?”

Mathematical Conversations – Part 1

As you are reading our blog, you may have figured out that the teaching and learning experiences through Raising A Mathematician Foundation (RAM) may be unique. Our classes focus on enabling mathematical inquiry in our learners, through building various skills like mathematical thinking, reasoning, logical thinking,

Parent Diaries: Magical learning using playing cards

During my childhood days, I thoroughly enjoyed a variety of card games. Reminiscing that, I thought of using the same trick to engage my son during his vacations. I want to share my experiences about how a deck of cards have not only been a part

Parent Diaries: Joy of learning by exploration

My daughter aged 6 years likes to play simple games with existing things at home. Once we were playing a game using cowry shells (called as Sozhi in Tamil) and I had to step away for some time.

Parent Diaries: Myriad of learning through pyramid

Sometimes, we cannot imagine that a simple activity which we start off as a fun game can actually teach us so many things. When my son was around 3 years old, a store keeper in our premises was shutting down his store. In his pile of unsold items that he

Building key tools for problem solving | Patience and Perseverance

When my daughter was about 3 years old and my nephew 2.5 years old, they got interested in solving jigsaw puzzles. We bought them a few sets of puzzles and they would work on

Parent Diaries: Lets explore the mess – Fun with sorting

As a mother of a 3-year-old, I used to keep thinking about interesting ideas to keep my son productively engaged. My son has always been a very energetic child. He used to love emptying his baskets of….

Right Answers or Right Questions?

While going to buy biscuits, Vinu would ask his mother not to give exact change but give some extra money which he could give to the shopkeeper and get change in return. For instance, if the biscuits cost ₹7, he would ask his mother to give ₹10.

Parent Diaries: 1,2,3 Vs One, Two, Three

Last year, after playing with the blocks and while putting the toys back to its place, I asked my 3-year old daughter to give me ‘three’ pieces. She has understood small counts like 1, 2, 3,…….

About APF

Over the last few years, we have had the opportunity to work with many bright and gifted students in mathematics. Some of them were lucky to get great teachers but most of them were lucky to have parents who played a major role in kindling their interest in mathematics through mostly non-routine ways. When we interacted with such parents we felt that these experiences and learning should be shared with more people so that more parents are equipped with different ways to create a love for the subject of mathematics in their children.

If you wish to be part of a group where we share these articles on a weekly basis, register on www.tinyurl.com/aprimefactor.

We would like to invite articles from parents and teachers who wish to share some of their unique and profound experiences of teaching and learning mathematics in conventional or non-conventional ways.

Share your articles to: articlesram@gmail.com

A series of inspiring and engaging articles, from teachers and parents about discussion on mathematics with children.

About APF

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