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MathCounts Workshop

MathCounts Workshop. Ross Nelson 29 October 2004. Topics. Practices Choosing a team Sprint Round Target Round Team Round Countdown Round State and Beyond. Practice Tips. It’s not a math class Tips for faster, more reliable math

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MathCounts Workshop

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  1. MathCounts Workshop Ross Nelson 29 October 2004

  2. Topics • Practices • Choosing a team • Sprint Round • Target Round • Team Round • Countdown Round • State and Beyond

  3. Practice Tips • It’s not a math class • Tips for faster, more reliable math • Put them in the situations they’ll face during competition • Sprint, power, team, countdown, master rounds • Encourage discussion among the students • Provide resources to support questions • Encourage research • Make it fun – competition, rewards

  4. Often-Overlooked Useful Skills • Estimation • When to use it, how to do it • Draw it • Verification • Solve it differently • Perform the computations in a different order

  5. Team Selection • Don’t choose the team until you have to! • Use objective criteria for selection – keeps the parents and kids happy • Let the kids know what the criteria are – allows them to work towards the objective, rewards hard work • Make it fun for everyone, even those who don’t compete… pizza party, mini school competition

  6. Sprint Round • To maximize points, the goal is to find quick, correct answers • Read them all in order, but only answer the ones at first that you know how to do for sure, get your brain working on the rest • Flag the problems that need to be reworked for sure • Double check the easiest ones – need those points

  7. Sprint Practice Ideas • Develop speed and reliability • Do lots of problems, under a very tight time limit, tracks scores and improvement • Encourage questions between teammates • Do single problems, or small groups of problems, and time the students • Post scores to encourage FRIENDLY competition?

  8. Target Round • Tests depth of knowledge and solving multi-step problems • Read the two problems quickly, start with the easiest and work it to completion • Always attempt both problems • Work them both in different ways if time permits

  9. Target Round Practice • Develop DEPTH of knowledge • Have students run “seminars” on different areas • Do lots of difficult problems, with no time limits • Discussion is a MUST

  10. Team Round • Use the first few minutes to divide and conquer – equal but independent answers without influence are strong answers • Discuss difficult problems for quick questions, rarely spend all 4 people’s time working one hard problem • Some team members can help verify and look for math mistakes • Stay Quiet!

  11. Team Round Practice • Try many strategies, ie two person teams, everybody for themselves, all together • Use scaled down tests; iteration is the key • LISTEN CAREFULLY to be able to analyze the teamwork after they finish • Highlight missed questions, discuss why it was wrong, what could have corrected it, analyze decision making skills of team • Team building exercises

  12. Countdown Round • Timing is everything – learn to know WHEN you will know the answer? • What can you figure out in 5 seconds? • Buzz in only when you absolutely WILL know the answer

  13. Countdown Round Practice • 5 second drills – answers in 5 seconds • For-sure drills – state in 5 seconds whether you can answer the question, then calculate the answer at your leisure • TRACK results, help to improve • Run competitions often with groups of 2-4

  14. Parents • Watch out for the crazies • Objective criteria for team selection is critical – CYA principle applies • Tie breaker method is important • Countdown or Master Round • Attendance • Task completion • Have parents attend the selection?

  15. Competition Day • Extra calculators, pens, pencils, paper • Remind them about the rules before each round • Go over the tips and tricks checklist you built during your practice sessions • Keep it fun

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