[seqfan] Sequences K-12 project

[Neil Sloane]

Dear Sequences Fans,
Gordon Hamilton and I have been talking about the idea of getting some
integer sequences into the K-12 (Kindergarten-Grade 12) curriculum. Gord
has made some really excellent videos about sequences in the OEIS, one of
which is mentioned in the attachment. There are also links to them from
entries in the OEIS.

The idea is to have a 2-day conference in Banff, Canada, next year, with a
dozen
math teachers, and a dozen sequence people,
with the goal of picking out 13 sequences that
could be used by math teachers (one sequence
for each of the 13 years).

There might also be a virtual conference, run on a web site where people
could sign up and contribute. For people who are unable to travel to Banff.

We would like to hear from OEIS folks who would be interested in this
project. Particularly people who are involved with teaching mathematics.  I
know we have contributors from many different worlds - but I don't know
which of you are math teachers. Please let me or Gord know if you are
interested in helping, or if you know of people who might be.

But we would also like to hear from non-teachers who like the idea, and
would be willing to work on picking out sequences that would appeal to
students. This seems to be a good way to enliven math teaching both in the
USA and in Canada - and of course in other countries.

Here's a link to Gord's video about the Recaman sequence. I think
it is really excellent: http://youtu.be/mQdNaofLqVc

Attached is a rough draft of our proposal for the conference.

Suggestions, comments, etc., will be welcomed.

Neil

-- 
Dear Friends, I have now retired from AT&T. New coordinates:

Neil J. A. Sloane, President, OEIS Foundation
11 South Adelaide Avenue, Highland Park, NJ 08904, USA.
Also Visiting Scientist, Math. Dept., Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ.
Phone: 732 828 6098; home page: http://NeilSloane.com
Email: njasloane at gmail.com
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Title of Proposal:


------------------
Sequences K-12

Type of Meeting:
----------------
2 Day Workshop (25 participants)


Preferred Location of Meeting:
------------------------------
Banff 


Contact Organizer:
------------------
Given Name: Gordon
Family Name: Hamilton
Affiliation: MathPickle.com
Department: 
Email: gord at mathpickle.com
URL: 3407 Utah Cres. NW
Address: 
3407 Utah Cres.
City: Calgary
Province/State: AB
Country: Canada
Postal/Zip Code: T2N 4A9
Phone number: 4032700279


Supporting Organizers:
----------------------
Given names: Neil James Alexander
Family name: Sloane
Affiliation (1): Rutgers University
Department: Mathematics
Affiliation (2): President, The OEIS Foundation, Inc.
Email: njasloane at gmail.com
Address:
11 South Adelaide Ave
Highland Park, NJ 08904, USA
Phone: (732) 828 6098


Subject Areas:
--------------
Math Science Education
97 Mathematics education
00 General


Overview of the subject area of the workshop:
---------------------------------------------
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) has many pedagogic gems that remain undiscovered by K-12 educators.  These sequences need to be lifted out of obscurity and become a part of every child's experience of mathematics.  


Statement of the objectives of the workshop:
--------------------------------------------
The primary objective of this conference is to bring together educators and mathematicians to choose 13 curricular sequences - one for each grade K-12.  The secondary objective is to initiate a practical campaign to get the selected sequences the wide exposure they deserve.

There is a need for fresh ideas to stimulate mathematics education.  This is especially true in North America where the average student ability has stagnated.  The 2012 PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) tested 15-year-olds from 34 OECD countries.  There is palpable concern across the border that the US ranked 26th [1].  Canada did a lot better: "As was the case in past PISA cycles, 15-year-olds continue to perform very well in a global context, with only nine out of 65 countries showing a statistically significant higher average score."[2]  Although correct, this optimistic summary was tempered because Canada's students scored lower than in 2009 and its top students (level 5&6 in PISA's hierarchy) accounted for 15% in Canada compared to 55% in Shanghai, China. [3]

The economics of an under-performing education system have been quantified.  According to a 2009 report by McKinsey & Company [2], if the United States had educated its children as well as Finland or South Korea from 1998 to 2008, the GDP of the United States in 2008 would have been higher by 9 - 16% ($1.3 - $2.3 trillion).  "The education shortcomings of the United States impose a permanent national recession." [4]



[1] Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) Results from PISA 2012 (Page 2):  http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf
[2] Measuring up: Canadian Results of the OECD PISA Study (Page 31):
http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/318/PISA2012_CanadianReport_EN_Web.pdf
[3] PISA 2012 Results in Focus (Page 5): http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf
[4] The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools.  April 2009  
http://mckinseyonsociety.com/the-economic-impact-of-the-achievement-gap-in-americas-schools/


Workshop press release:
-----------------------
Have you ever heard of the Recaman sequence?  Probably not, but this sequence and many others like it are pedagogic gems just waiting to be discovered by K-12 teachers.  Here is how the Recaman sequence works: 

Start at zero on the number line.  First move 1 space.  Next move 2 spaces.  Next move 3 spaces.  Next move 4 spaces...  You get the idea; but what direction should you move?  The answer is that you must always try to move towards zero, but only if you move to a positive number that you have not visited before... otherwise you must move away from zero.  Here are the first several terms:

0, 1, 3, 6, 2, 7, 13, 20, 12...

This is a great way to give your students practice moving along the number line.  See a video of the Recaman sequence and an extension to negative numbers here: 
http://youtu.be/mQdNaofLqVc

Why have so many pedagogically beautiful sequences failed to get noticed?  Perhaps because they are treated as recreational curiosities by mathematicians, and their true home as pedagogic tools in the K-12 classroom has been missed.  This conference will remedy this situation by unearthing 13 curricular sequences - one for for each grade K-12.


List of possible participants and their institutions:
-----------------------------------------------------

Greathouse, Charles, IV, Case Western Reserve University
Zucker, Joshua, Math Circles (?)


Preferred dates:
----------------
1. 03/13/2015
2. 03/06/2015
3. 02/27/2015
4. 03/20/2015
5. 03/27/2015

Impossible dates:
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Additional Comments:
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