On Saturday, April 16, junior high and high school students took part in the annual Math Field Day at California State University, Fresno. The math department was awarded 1st place overall in the small school division for both high school and junior high.

Michael Fenton, junior high and high school mathematics teacher, takes students to Math Field Day because it is both a learning and competitive environment.

“I require all of my honors students to participate [in Math Field Day], and the non honors can volunteer,” Fenton said. “The students did very well and I think this has been the best Math Field Day since I have been here.”

Although students are generally given a choice on what events they will participate in on Math Field Day, Fenton may, at times, appoint specific students to play certain games or participate in challenges. Recreations at the event included anything from The Game, which is a strategy-based, checker-like contest where participants combat each other for points, to Leap Frog, a game where competitors work together in pairs to answer questions and check each other’s work within an allotted time.

“My students were able to pretty much choose what they wanted to do, but I knew that some games would be good for particular students,” Fenton said. “I think all the students had fun and enjoyed it.”

Freshman Kyle Seo, participated in Math Field day and won second place for Mad Hatter, a contest where students are given a minute and a half to complete one math problem at a time.

“I had a lot of fun,” Seo said. “Mr. Fenton told me to do certain games and those were really fun. I liked how there was a lot to do and you never got bored. I would want to do it again.”

Like Seo, junior Zachary Diaz de la Cuesta also won second place in his event: Leap Frog.

“I really enjoyed the day with my classmates,” Cuesta said. “I had fun competing against the other schools and coming in second place. Mr. Fenton really encouraged us to try our best and still be excited about it, which made it a good experience.”

Although Cuesta and Seo both achieved second in their respective categories, the majority of the students who took part in Math Field Day walked away with nothing. Senior Frank Daniels participated in The Game and only made it to 17th place, a marker not recognized by an award.

“I did The Game because it’s easy and non smart people can get away with it,” Daniel said. “Even though I was trying to win in order to earn extracredit, I only got 17th place, so I didn’t get an award.”

Some students couldn’t make it to the event due to previous engagements, and had to write a math research paper in order to receive credit for the competition.

“I was out of town visiting relatives on Math Field Day,” junior Lizzie Williams said. “It’s less work to go to Math Field Day than writing a research paper, so I much rather would have gone.”

Fenton looks forward to Math Field Day every year because he enjoys watching his students work together and excel when given a task.

“Students really enjoy going to this program because it is kind of bonding for them and they learn while playing games,” Fenton said. “I am proud to be apart of this math program because the students were eager to participate in it. They have worked hard all year and it definitely paid off.”

For more information, e-mail Fenton and read the April 22, 2010, article, FC conquers Math Field Day.

Tweet