The objective of “Get That Pi,” a board game designed by a trio of students from a New Jersey intermediate school, is to earn money by correctly answering circumference or area questions and buy the most pie ingredients. The game is a contestant in the MIND Research Institute’s fourth annual K-12 Game-a-thon, which challenges Kindergarten through 12th-grade students to create their own math games — such as board, card, outdoor and computer or mobile app games — to solve mathematical problems. Search the hashtag #gameathon on Twitter for ideas.
“The challenge is designed to help students engage in math outside of the traditional classroom environment, providing an avenue to promote creative thinking in mathematics,” notes Mike Limon, director of MathMINDs at the MIND Research Institute. The institute’s mission is to ensure that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
In 1998, three University of California researchers created the nonprofit institute to teach math the way children learn — visually and experientially. To that end, the institute develops innovative, visually-based software games.
Parents and teachers are encouraged to help guide students as they prepare their Game-a-thon entries. Deadline to enter is July 1. Winners will be recognized in the MIND Institute’s “Hall of Fame.” This webinar presents a teacher’s guide to the challenge:
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Editor’s note: Watchworthy Wednesday posts highlight interesting resources and appear in DML Central every Wednesday. Any tips for future posts are welcome. Please comment below or send email to mcruz@hri.uci.edu.
