Mini-Courses

Category Theory: An Introduction

Facilitator: Eugenia Cheng, Ph.D. WEDNESDAYS, MAY 3, MAY 10, MAY 17

MƒA

 MATHEMATICS

Category theory (abstract mathematics typically only seen by advanced graduate students) is a significant mathematics field to originate in the 21st century. In the last 60 years, it has become indispensable to large swathes of pure mathematics and parts of theoretical physics, computer science, philosophy, and even linguistics. It can be thought of as the “mathematics of mathematics”—a way of thinking about mathematics in the same way mathematics is a way of thinking about the world. Category theory is less about solving specific problems and more about shedding light on mathematical structures, providing a language for making connections between different topics. This mini-course will introduce basic category theory emphasizing ideology and motivation, confirming these ideas are relevant to all mathematical thinking. We will explore graduate-level problems and more accessible ones for secondary mathematics classrooms. We will bring abstract mathematical ideas down to earth by centering social justice, current events, and everyday life in profoundly motivating ways—especially for students who often feel excluded from mathematics. We will conclude by discussing how “abstract” doesn’t mean “irrelevant” and how abstract thinking can help us understand urgent issues in the world around us. There are no prerequisites other than curiosity, an open mind, and basic arithmetic skills.

Dr. Eugenia Cheng is a Scientist-in-Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She won tenure in Pure Mathematics at the University of Sheffield, UK, and has a Ph.D. in Pure Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. In addition to teaching undergraduates, she has assisted with mathematics in elementary, middle, and high schools for over 20 years. Dr. Cheng is the author of popular mathematics books, How to Bake Pi, Beyond Infinity, The Art of Logic, and x+y: A Mathematician’s Manifesto for Rethinking Gender. Her latest book, The Joy of Abstraction: An Exploration of Math, Category Theory, and Life, hopes to demystify mathematical thought processes and help you dig deeper into mathematical concepts and build your mathematical background. She is also a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a concert pianist.

CheMATHstry: The Math of Molecules

Facilitator: Disan Davis, Ph.D.

TUESDAYS, MAY 9, MAY 16, MAY 23

MƒA

 SCIENCE

Teaching mathematics in the chemistry classroom can sometimes feel challenging, especially when introducing new concepts students have yet to learn in their mathematics class (e.g., logarithms). In this mini-course, teachers will explore strategies to teach students how to use and understand mathematics within the context of their chemistry class. In the first session, we will dive into multiple ways of approaching unit conversions and calculations, beyond dimensional analysis. In session two, we will consider techniques to build a conceptual understanding of logarithms and exponential decay. In our final session, we will discuss additional mathematics-based chemistry topics, review previous strategies, and share best practices from our own chemistry classrooms. This course is designed for all high school chemistry teachers.

Dr. Disan Davis is a Research Associate for the STEM PUSH Network , an NSF-funded national alliance of pre-college STEM programs focused on broadening participation in STEM, with a particular aim of supporting Black, Latine, and Indigenous students’ enrollment and persistence. Before this work, she led a pre-college STEM program at Rockefeller University, taught middle and high school science, and earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry. These days, she enjoys exploring science in the kitchen and the woods, and learning mathematics strategies from her seven year old.

Code

Puzzles in the Classroom

Facilitators: Jeff Olson and Taylor Want

MONDAYS, MAR 13, MAR 20, MAR 27 ONLINE  COMPUTER

Science And Technology

Whether you’re writing your first line of code or majored in computer science, you’ve likely heard of the code challenges companies like Google use as part of their hiring process. These puzzles require critical thinking, perseverance, curiosity, and excellent problem-solving skills—all attributes teachers would love to see in their STEM students! Join us to learn the basics, sharpen your coding skills, and dig deep into solving code puzzles. We’re excellent debuggers, ready to support teachers at their current coding level and to act as thought partners in adapting these games for each teacher’s students, classrooms, and school communities. All coders are welcome, from beginner to advanced.

Jeff Olson is the Director of Learning & Development at Giant Machines. Jeff has an undergraduate degree in neuroscience and American literature from Baylor University. Upon graduating in 2011, Jeff was placed as an English teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, with Teach For America and earned his M.Ed. in secondary education from Arizona State University. In 2015, Jeff taught beginner courses in software engineering, iOS app development, and web design to high school students in Los Angeles and New York City. He believes learning to code