The Balancing Acts routine is an approach to teaching the concepts of equality and equivalence, which span K-16 education and are fundamental to mathematics and the sciences. Without a solid grounding in these foundational concepts, students will find themselves unprepared for college-level coursework in mathematics and the natural sciences. This can be especially detrimental to STEM students, because without that foundation, they will be less likely to persist in a STEM major and enter the STEM workforce. It is in this regard that in response to an identified need in the math and science knowledge of incoming STEM students at 麻豆传媒在线, Dean Kight called on math education faculty to develop learning experiences to address this critical issue.

The Balancing Acts approach leverages a familiar and ancient technology 鈥� the balance scale 鈥� as a tool for embodied learning that teachers can use to teach the relational sense of the equal sign. The relational sense of the equal sign promotes a view of an equation as a comparison of two equivalent quantities, as in the equation 鈥�8 + 5 = x + 7,鈥� which means that 8 + 5 is the same as an unknown number added to 7. While a variety of tools can and should be used to support students鈥� learning of equivalence, Dr. Panorkou and Dr. Greenstein hypothesized that the singular use of the balance model across multiple instances of equivalence in the curriculum gives students an 鈥渙bject to think with鈥� that they can rely on to recognize equivalence as a big idea of math and science throughout their K-12 coursework. Here are screenshots of a few activities:

The Summer Institute was held at PRISM, the University鈥檚 STEM professional development provider. Its goals were to introduce the Balancing Acts approach to teachers, collaborate with them to design new activities that are tailored to their curriculum, and test and refine pedagogical practices for implementing them in their classrooms. Here鈥檚 some of the feedback the teachers shared with us:

I was very honored to be chosen to be a part of this fellowship and proud to share my ideas. The collaboration amongst teachers is inspiring.

I thought the activities were excellent – very engaging and fun. I think students would love them. I thought the sequential way the activities were ordered led to deeper and deeper understanding of the concepts.

The workshop was highly engaging, especially with the focus on hands-on activities, like the Balancing Acts. I found the practical approach and digital resources particularly valuable, as I believe these tools will be incredibly beneficial for the students. I鈥檓 looking forward to more interactive learning opportunities!

Dr. Greenstein, Dr. Panorkou, and their doctoral research assistants will continue their professional learning with teachers in monthly meetings throughout the year to further refine the Balancing Acts approach.

• Parsippany High School
• Parsippany Hills High School
• Livingston High School
• Montville High School
• Kearney High School
• West Milford High School

Four Math Ambassadors (Kaitlyn Cohan, Vlad Nita, Preston Pietruszewski, Ryan Avallone) helped with several aspects of the event, including a campus walk for all attendees and organizing a math-contest for them. Students listened to talks about math and music which was the focus of this year鈥檚 event and built flute-like instruments and performed calculations during the afternoon workshop by utilizing appropriate mathematical and physical principles. Overall this was a very successful event and students were very engaged and excited. In fact, many of them expressed their desire to return to the program next year.

The agenda for the day was as follows:

10am – 10:30 am

Welcome by Chair + breakfast + internet setup

10:30 – 11:30 am

Math & Music talk by Dr. Denis Sheeran

11:30 – 12:00 pm

Math Jeopardy – Math Ambassadors 30 mins

12:00 – 12:30 pm

Lunch Break

12:30 – 1:00 pm

Campus walk

1:00 – 2:30 pm

Math and Music Workshop by Dr. Bogdan Nita

2:30 – 2:50 pm

Awards and certificates

2:50 – 3:00 pm

Group picture

The Research Committee grounds this award in three areas of AMTE鈥檚 work:

1. To promote improving , which is inextricably bound to a commitment towards more effective and socially just education systems.
2. To strengthen the while supporting our members to understand how issues of social and racial justice undergird all of our work.听
3. To realize that the affect teaching and learning and know about and are committed to their critical roles as advocates for every student.

Wiley鈥檚 poster is titled 鈥淶ero Divisor Graphs of Certain Matrices鈥�, supervised by Dr. Aihua Li from the Department of Mathematics. His research is sponsored by a CSAM Summer Undergraduate Research grant. Sarah鈥檚 poster is titled 鈥淪panning Trees of Random Cubic Graphs with Many Leaves鈥�, supervised by Dr. Deepak Bal from the Department of Mathematics.

Learn more about the .

The faculty team includes聽Dr. Mika Munakata听(Mathematics Department),听Dr. Emily Klein听(Teaching and Learning), and聽Dr. Monica Taylor (Educational Foundations), with聽Colette Killian聽as project manager.

The 麻豆传媒在线 Wipro Science Education Fellowship (SEF) is a professional development program designed to support experienced K鈥�12 science teachers as teacher leaders within their districts.听The program was originally developed by UMass Boston and was implemented in similar ways across seven universities. The program works with teachers of various disciplines and grade levels from five high-need school districts. It is funded by Wipro Limited, a global information technology and consulting corporation with a vested interest in public education in both India and the US. The聽 $561,630 funded for Phase 3 will allow the program to expand its reach to more teachers,聽additional disciplines, and new districts, all with the goal of creating sustainable structures for teacher leadership within districts.

This section of Supplemental Instruction is for students of any level of Spanish proficiency who would like the option to interact in Spanish. Information about registering for special sections of bilingual Precalculus to be offered in Fall 2022 will be posted soon. All are welcome!

Learn more about these offerings in the video below.

https://youtu.be/r1n2P2Em5lI

Benjamin, now a senior, knows so much about the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (also known as PETM) because, like a lot of undergraduates in the College of Science and Mathematics, she has had the opportunity to conduct research with a faculty researcher on topics that interest them.

And that research has paid off.

Benjamin won first place at the 2021 Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Awards competition in November for her research on PETM.

As part of the Future Scientists program, Benjamin, along with five other student researchers, presented their research in both a poster session and in five-minute oral presentations at the Awards held at the Center for Environmental and Life Sciences in November. The program trains student researchers to communicate their scientific research to the general public, helping them to succeed in their graduate education and career paths. The program鈥檚 sponsor, Mario M. Casabona, an entrepreneur and founder and managing director of TechLaunch LLC and Casabona Ventures, attended and was joined by a professional panel of judges, who determined the winner.

Benjamin discussing her research at the 2021 Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Awards, where she won first place.

Students presented research on topics varying from mathematical education to neutron star structure in gravitational waves to a protein鈥檚 relationship to melanoma to how treatment for inflammation can be derived from mathematical models, and much more.

Undergraduate, as well as graduate, research is a hallmark of the College of Science and Mathematics, says Dean Lora Billings.

鈥淔aculty-mentored student research is really important because not only does it allow the student the freedom to explore and be creative, but to also be a problem solver with confidence to think out of the box,鈥� Billings says. 鈥淭his falls under the world of experiential learning, where a student uniquely applies what they have learned in the classroom and then sharpens their communication skills by telling the story.鈥�

Studying and researching with professors is an important step for many future scientists. Before receiving the research opportunity with Earth and Environmental Studies Assistant Professor Ying Cui, Benjamin says she felt unqualified for research.

鈥淚 was initially very intimidated because I thought, 鈥楬ere I am, an undergraduate, with no resume qualified experience and definitely not specializing in a singular topic,鈥� 鈥� Benjamin says.

However, Cui made it clear that she was very open to having students of all levels get involved, and Benjamin鈥檚 experience has been meaningful ever since.

鈥淭his experience will be one I will carry with me in my future,鈥� Benjamin says. 鈥淒r. Cui is an incredible mentor and my involvement has given me the chance to understand more deeply the time, effort, money and methods that go along with true research.鈥�

Winning first place after presenting her research on how black carbon is used as a tool to understand how ecosystems responded to the PETM global warming event was a tremendous feeling, she says. Her research gave her the preparation she needed to confidently discuss how society is dependent on the ecosystem and therefore it is essential to understand how it will respond to climate change.

As part of her research, Benjamin has had the access to work with high-grade equipment alongside fellow student researchers like Melissa Spigelman, a junior studying Molecular Biology, who has also gotten a meaningful experience out of her research.

Melissa Spigelman explains her research on melanoma and protein during the Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Program competition.

Spigelman was awarded second place and audience favorite for her research on a protein known as ICER and its relationship to melanoma 鈥� the deadliest form of skin cancer. Her goal is to create a cream that contains ICER and protein that could kill off the melanoma and prevent those cancer cells from spreading.

Her interest in research was inspired by her best friend who suffered from Hodgkin鈥檚 Lymphoma, a cancer in the lymph nodes. While Spigelman always had a hidden passion for biology, watching her friend fight cancer only further inspired her to make a change in the world.

鈥淚 wanted to help in any possible way that I can,鈥� Spigelman says.

During the time her friend was undergoing cancer treatment, Speigelman was offered a remarkable opportunity at 麻豆传媒在线 through one of her close friends, Angelo Cirinelli. At the time, Cirinelli was a senior researcher at the University while she was only a senior in high school. After speaking with Biology Professor Carlos Molina, Cirinelli was able to bring Speigelman on board. The two have worked together on research projects ever since.

鈥淚t was honestly a true blessing that Dr. Molina was willing to take a chance on me at such a young age,鈥� Speigelman says. 鈥淚鈥檓 just so glad that one day in the future, I feel like we鈥檒l be able to find a treatment for really aggressive cancers like melanoma.鈥�

The student research opportunities offered at 麻豆传媒在线 took Cirinelli to the next level of his career in molecular biology. After winning a first-place award for melanoma cancer research in the Future Scientists Awards of 2019, he is now studying at Rutgers in the Biomedical PhD program.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been very meaningful to work with Dr. Molina on research as an undergrad and now as a PhD candidate,鈥� Cirinelli says. 鈥淎t the event, it was great to see that other people also understood the importance of the projects that we have going on in the lab.鈥�

When Cirinelli was a freshman, he knew he wanted to get into research but wasn鈥檛 sure how to get involved. Dr. Molina鈥檚 research caught his eye one semester so he decided to simply ask him if he needed some assistance.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 know how to go to the professors during their office hours and just ask. The worst thing that they could say is that their lab is full,鈥� Cirinelli says.

Once involved in the research, the students typically spend on average 16 to 18 hours of research per week while the projects take at least one or two years to complete before being presented at the annual Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Awards competition.

Gianna Fazzini was the first ever mathematics education student to present at the Future Scientists event.

Gianna Fazzini, a senior from West Caldwell, New Jersey, was the first mathematics education student to present at the Future Scientists event. Through her research in the realm of math education, she hoped to open people鈥檚 eyes up to the world of math education, and in what direction it鈥檚 heading.

Her passion drew her toward math education research since the subject was never her strong suit. She believes that math education focuses mostly on procedures rather than on concepts and she seeks to change that with a balance of both in the classroom.

鈥淚 believe as future research goes, it鈥檚 important to study teachers in their own classroom settings in order to make the connection between the tools that teachers are providing their students, and the tools that they were provided in their teacher preparation program,鈥� Fazzini says.

Through her research with Assistant Mathematics Professor Joseph DiNapoli, Fazzini urges students to get involved in research and spark new changes around the world.

鈥淏eing able to research something that was so meaningful to the both of us made this an enjoyable experience and I strongly urge anybody who has the chance to do research on campus to take advantage of it because it gives you the ability to view the world in a different light,鈥� Fazzini says.

The student researchers are taking a positive approach to research, science and math in hopes of encouraging others to follow their examples and to make a decision to embark on something that didn鈥檛 seem possible.

For more information, visit the聽2021 Mario M. Casabona Future Scientists Awards webpage.

Story by聽Rosaria Lo Presti; photos by University Photographer聽Mike Peters