{"id":207018,"date":"2019-05-16T13:01:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T17:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/mathematics\/?p=207018"},"modified":"2019-05-21T13:54:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T17:54:43","slug":"math-history-maker-faire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/mathematics\/2019\/05\/16\/math-history-maker-faire\/","title":{"rendered":"Math History Maker Faire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor Eileen Fern\u00e1ndez, the instructor, has been involved in a separate project which considers how learning can be enhanced through the process of Making<\/em> or of designing and innovating with tools and materials to create products that are usable to students outside their classroom boundaries.<\/p>\n

A Making approach to learning is based in a theory called constructionism<\/em>. This theory combines the principles of constructivism with those of Making to encourage teachers to actively incorporate students\u2019 thinking into their learning and into constructing something that can be usable to them beyond the classroom.\u00a0 In all her classes, Professor Fern\u00e1ndez attempts to invoke constructivist principles by encouraging students\u2019 thinking and using this thinking in classroom problem-solving.\u00a0 By integrating students\u2019 insights into mathematical justifications, proofs, and even assessments, she aims to give students (versus textbooks or the professor) agency over their own learning.<\/p>\n

The event left no doubt that the possibilities for learning mathematics can extend beyond classroom boundaries.<\/p>\n