The two classes will meet in HSU’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, Room 302, at 10 a.m. Children in Elizabeth Rivera’s fifth grade class will “evaluate” HSU student projects developed in Professor Stuart Moskowitz’s Math 308c course (math for elementary school teachers).
The projects stem from weekly letter exchanges. HSU students share math topics with their Morris Elementary pen pals, who solve assigned problems in the exchanges. Written solutions are shared and explained.
“As an added bonus, the 308c students and the children are getting to know each other and developing new friendships,” Moskowitz said. “Everybody enjoys the letter writing. Almost every day, students in both classes are asking whether letters are coming.”
Wednesday’s visit will enable the pen pals to meet for the first time in person. “Because the Morris Elementary children will be the audience for these presentations, my students are putting much effort into the projects to ensure their success,” Moskowitz said. “This is an unusual and innovative collaboration. The projects include topics such as geometry (origami and tangrams), probability experiments, computation practice using playing cards and more. Both classes are very excited about the event. For many of the youngsters, this will be their first visit to Humboldt State.”
One of the main objectives of teacher preparation at HSU is developing written communication skills, according to Moskowitz. Writing in the math classroom helps students develop a more solid understanding of concepts because it demands a more accurate and thoughtful expression of ideas, he said. “When only the teacher reads a student's writing, it's easy to put in less effort, because the student knows the teacher already understands the problems and the answers. By writing to the children, the prospective teachers get real feedback from their future audience. The children, besides improving their writing skills, are developing a sense of importance because of their role as 'consultants.'"