4 minute read
The Classroom
BY SANDRA SANTANA
A Fresh Perspective
Alexandra Schmidt always had an innate fascination with the way the world works. In fact, she has dedicated her life’s studies to finding answers to some of the most sophisticated problems.
Alexandra began her journey into the operations of the world during her undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at Stanford University. After completing her Master of Science in electrical engineering, she embarked on a 15-year career as a control systems engineer. Between Silicon Valley and General Electric’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York, Alexandra problem-solved everything from the optimization of locomotive fuel consumption to air traffic path planning. Although the engineer found herself in a career developing mathematical models of dynamic systems, this path lacked the special connection that came with collaboration. For Alexandra, teamwork and collaboration were key to accomplishing just about anything.
This revelation led Alexandra to take a leap of faith and revisit the classroom. In 2008, Alexandra received her MAT in Mathematics from Union Graduate College and began her new teaching career as a math instructor at the Hebrew Academy of the Capital District. Alexandra was subsequently awarded her National Board Certification, the most respected professional certification available in K–12 education, only achieved by 4% of math teachers in New York.
Alexandra’s excellence in the classroom continued as she joined the mathematics department at Emma Willard School in 2014. Over the last seven years, her out-of-the-box approach to mathematical applications has breathed life into textbook equations, adding a new twist to a subject often perceived to be dull or difficult.
Through engaging demonstrations and real world explanations, Alexandra helps her students connect the world around them to the complex topics they are working to solve. An avid baker, she shows that math is all around you, if you know where to look. Hannah Lang ’17 recalls the impact of that classroom experience, sharing, “We calculated the maximum surface area and edge area of varying-sized pans of brownies, given a constant volume of batter.” She adds, “This was then followed by the hands-on experience of eating brownies!”
Honing in on the value of collaboration, Alexandra volunteers as the advisor of the Albany Math Circle (AAMC), a group of high school students from the Capital District who meet regularly to collaborate on challenging problems and interesting applications of mathematics. While most students limit themselves to standard math curriculum, some take a step further to join a math club or competition team. “These extracurriculars typically provide participants with the opportunity to individually solve problems in search of a correct answer,” Alexandra shares, “though certain supportive classroom and competition settings allow students to work together to address harder, more complex questions that require teamwork.”
Reflecting back on her experiences as a control systems engineer and an instructor, Alexandra realized that many of her students have successfully pursued degrees and careers in various STEM fields. “Unfortunately, few of them actually use mathematics to determine a best course of action or educate themselves about a non-STEM topic until they begin professional internships or careers,” Alexandra says. “These experiences prefigure my goal that students learn about other fields besides mathematics, consider math’s applicability as a decision-making tool, and talk to each other in the process.”
In search of a way to help students gather “an enhanced sense of math’s applicability to their future studies,” Alexandra discovered the MathWorks Math Modeling (M3) Challenge. The M3 challenge allows students to experience what it’s like to work as a team to tackle a real-world problem under time and resource constraints, akin to those
faced by professional mathematicians. Ultimately, the M3 Challenge inspired Alexandra to develop a math modeling culture at Emma Willard School, centered around a competition team.
This year, the M3 challenge asked students to provide solutions to combat the “digital divide” (the gap between those who benefit from adequate access to the internet and those who do not), a global reality magnified by the pandemic and our collective increased dependence on higher levels of bandwidth. “No one on the team had any expertise in broadband distribution or availability, but the team strategized, asked questions, researched, and developed mathematical models that took past data into account while projecting future patterns,” Alexandra recalls. “Twelve hours later, the team had produced a polished 20-page paper that laid out their assumptions and provided mathematical predictions that considered internet speed, household age, income, and population density.”
As the pandemic raged during competition season, the M3 team was forced to work from the safety of their homes around the world—from Vietnam to New York to Alexandra’s native California. Students worked through the night to tackle the modeling problem and earned an honorable mention, placing in the top 9% of the 535 papers submitted in the US and UK. Each team member received scholarship funds for college. “All these students are good math students, but they are also good writers, good brainstormers, good thinkers, good programmers, and good communicators,” Alexandra shares. “These gifts together are what make mathematics really meaningful in the real world—as well as a lot of fun.”
Alexandra was honored with the 2017 Edyth May Sliffe Award for distinguished mathematics teaching at the middle and high school levels. This national education award recognizes educators who spend significant time helping students both enjoy and achieve in the MAA’s American Mathematics Competitions.
“One of the most important aspects of teaching and learning mathematics is to develop a sense of ‘play.’ In a math competition, you never know what kind of problem is going to show up next, or how a problem might blend different ideas,” Alexandra shares. “We encourage our students to try out different approaches, be creative, and most of all, be persistent.”
