2019 was a year of great momentum for MIND Research Institute. We announced ST Math Chats, a new ST Math feature, launched our MathMINDs Games, and so much more. We also found new and creative ways to recognize the tremendous work of our colleagues, allies, and partners like you. Looking back, we are immensely proud of the foundation we’ve built and the partnerships we’ve forged. It’s the feedback, advice, and challenges our partners present to us that keep us moving toward a future where we can mathematically equip all students to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
Thank you for your continued support, and cheers to what’s ahead!
|
|
|
|
Brett Woudenberg
|
Matthew Peterson, Ph.D.
|
This year brought a new ST Math feature, ST Math Chats! ST Math Chats are 25-30 minute lessons that utilize 1:1 or 2:1 technology to create an interactive learning and sharing experience. Using a Play-Discuss-Apply model, these lessons designate time for students to play an ST Math game, participate in whole class discussion, and apply what they’ve learned to a math problem that concludes the lesson.
This June, the U.S. Patent Office issued to MIND a patent that covers the core of how ST Math games function. U.S. Patent No. 10,304,346 protects the system and method for training with virtual manipulatives. It includes the use of spatial-temporal (ST) reasoning to interact with on-screen objects following mathematical rules, informative feedback showing why solutions work or not, difficulty ramps, and error tolerance. This is the ninth and latest addition to MIND's portfolio of design and utility patents.
The new Thought Leaders & Speakers page on mindresearch.org launched in April. Here, you can get to know MIND’s current featured speakers and what they have to say around mathematics, neuroscience, education, research, and learning.
Twelve new episodes of the “Inside Our MIND” podcast were published in 2019. Each episode looks at issues and challenges facing education that MIND is working to address through research, technology, and strategic initiatives.
Listen in on this episode featuring Karin Wu, MIND’s Executive Vice President/Executive Director of Social Impact. Karin shares the story of what brought her to MIND, the organization’s mission, and how our partners help us pursue that mission.
Three more educators’ stories were added to this series. Teachers and administrators across the country told us how they’re engaging, motivating, and challenging their students in unique ways.
"The students would say things to the principal on the playground like ‘I know JiJi is all about math, but JiJi wants us to never give up and figure out the problem.’ They were not only carrying that over to other content areas, but to behavioral and social areas, and that meant just as much as the quantitative results."
-Kim Anthony, How to Bring Edtech into a District Successfully
"I don’t ask that students be able to do every single kind of approach to solving different types of problems. But they do need to find a strategy that works for them, a way that is efficient as well as accurate."
-Meagan Erwin, A Math Class Structure that Fosters Conceptual Learning
"Once a school successfully embeds ST Math into their culture they will start to see students develop deeper conceptual understanding and math fluency at the same time. Then it’s up to teachers to take their students' new abilities and help them apply them to real-world applications."
-Thomas Donahue, Engagement Thrives When Students Own Their Math Learning
We had opportunities to showcase MathMINDs Games at events and festivals including the Global Math Week kick-off event in Santa Clara, California, and the National Math Festival in Washington, D.C.
Interested in bringing MathMINDs Games to more families?
|
MathMINDs Games’ first game suite, “South of the Sahara,” even earned a 2018 Academics’ Choice Award for Excellence! |
|
Students designed, built, and shared games that featured creative and unusual solutions to mathematical problems in our annual K-12 Game-a-thon. We had almost 100 entries from nine states across the U.S., and even a few entries from Canada!
We held our first ever ST Math Sweepstakes! Three lucky winners received an all expenses paid school visit from JiJi, including a backpack filled with JiJi-themed swag for the students. JiJi made stops in Corona, California; Port Isabel, Texas; and Logan Township, New Jersey—and had a whole lot of fun along the way!
At MIND, where our core values revolve around people, problem solving, and learning, we take the development of capacity building partnerships very seriously. In addition to the financial support that has helped us reach nearly 1.3 million students with our award-winning ST Math program, we are also extremely grateful for the guidance and support that have led us to achieve significant results at scale.
To continue to make breakthroughs in education and ultimately achieve our mission, we count on the feedback and advice of our partners. From my perspective, our partnerships work so well because we have people who truly believe in and are committed to the work we do. Thank you, partners! We are so grateful for your true capacity building support, and MIND continues to see measurable improvement because of you.
Karin Wu
Executive Vice President/ Executive Director, Social Impact
MIND Research Institute
Rockwell Automation is a powerful partner for MIND. Their support of students extends beyond the classroom to the larger math ecosystem. They wholly support MIND’s mission by advancing programs through their own key stakeholders and strategically investing in general operating support, ST Math, professional development, Family Nights, and research and development. In addition, this year, Rockwell Automation also funded the development of MathMINDs Games: South of the Sahara!
Read More »
Hyundai Motor America announced a $250,000 donation to Montgomery Public Schools for STEM education. The Hyundai ST Math Initiative will now benefit nearly 3,000 students from these schools. On May 21, 2019, HMA executives invited city dignitaries, school officials and other special guests to celebrate with them.
Our partnership with the One8 Foundation and Mass STEM Hub expanded ST Math to 60 additional schools, bringing the total number of participants in the ST Math Massachusetts Program to 114. At the end of the school year, Mass STEM Hub celebrated over 575 elementary school students’ ST Math achievements at the New England Aquarium.
The Matthew and Roberta Jenkins Family Foundation has awarded scholarships to deserving students and institutions across the country, including MIND Research Institute. The foundation aims to continue elevating urban education by finding the positive possibilities all around and sharing them through education, work ethic, integrity, and good human values.
John Deere believes the world needs innovators now more than ever. Why? The population is growing and is forecast to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. The result? A rising need for more and better food, shelter, and infrastructure. That is why John Deere is proud to support ST Math and the next generations of innovators. Since 2014, funding from the John Deere Foundation has helped more than 19,000 youth in Iowa and Illinois and continues to expand the number of students and teachers able to benefit from ST Math programs.
Cisco has partnered with MIND for over a decade to ensure that the ST Math user experience for both students and educators is continually improving. They invited us, once again, to be part of their Active Learning Space at the annual ISTE Conference & Expo. Attendees flocked to take selfies and shake a tailfeather with JiJi and Huti.
In May, we brought together several of our partners for the 2019 Partner Advisory Forum. Representatives from Cisco Foundation, Rockwell Automation, John Deere, Phillips 66, One8 Foundation, Pitney Bowes, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hillsborough County School District challenged us to think both bigger and more deeply about the impact we can achieve together.
MIND’s had an incredible year of forwarding its mission. ST Math now reaches more students than ever before and we’re continuing to find ways to empower the next generation of problem solvers. Your support will help us to continue research and development, and to expand our reach to more students, teachers, schools, and communities.
