PUTTING MATH INTO WORDS Learning mathematics at Glen Urquhart has always been about words. If that sounds illogical or
Can you do upper school problem solving? If m represents the smallest odd number that is the sum of the squares of three distinct one-digit prime numbers, and n represents the smallest even number that is the sum of the squares of three distinct one-digit prime numbers, which is larger, m or n, and by how much?
counter-intuitive, Math Coordinator Maureen Twombly is quick to explain. “Language is essential for understanding mathematics and doing real world math,” she says. “Once you’ve learned the language, you don’t ever lose the skill.” Since founding faculty member Merelyn Smith first created the unique GUS mathematics program in the 1980s, the emphasis on language has been one of its most distinguishing features. “Our mathematics program has three goals,” Maureen says. “To teach children the language behind the mathematics they are learning; to give them a conceptual understanding of the mathematics presented; and, finally, to provide them with the procedures that make mathematics most efficient.” According to Merelyn and Maureen, to get to the second two goals, and thereby develop
November 2016 The Tartan 5
