River Dell Regional High School
(7:30-12:00)
During
this first day of my internship at the River Dell Regional High School, I met
Mr. Sincak and the other teachers within both the mathematics and science
departments. After introductions with various teachers and procedural
activities, Mr. Sincak provided me with an office within the school for me to
work in throughout the day. He and I discussed possibilities with utilizing the
program Geogebra within his classroom, and he asked me to construct a program
file that would interactively diagnose which students required assistance
throughout his Honors Geometry class. Specifically, my task was to construct a
program that would create random line segments on a coordinate grid, provide
spaces for students to submit answers based on questions regarding those
segments, and create an indicator on the screen to reveal which students are
doing well and which students are struggling.
Throughout
the day, I worked on learning the Geogebra program and its association with JavaScript.
I found it difficult to connect my experience with mathematics with my basic
knowledge of computer science and programming, but I enjoyed it tremendously. I
realized that the range of tools available for teaching purposes was larger
than I ever expected, as I soon discovered how useful this application would be
for the average classroom. These tasks, as well as my conversations with Mr.
Sincak, have begun to inspire me into a career choice that connects to both
technology and education, with the underlying factor still being mathematics;
and although I still need to improve on my programming abilities, they
nonetheless improved significantly on this first day. In the end, I was partly
successful in performing my tasks regarding GeoGebra, but I fully associated
myself with the other faculty members here. In addition, I also helped create
challenging problems for Mr. Sincak’s Honors Geometry course. Overall, I plan
to learn more about JavaScript in order to produce more fruitful results in the
future.
Fairleigh Dickinson University
(12:56-3:00)
On
this first official day of the internship at Fairleigh Dickinson University, I
discussed with my mentor, Professor Mark Farag, about my tasks throughout the
semester: auditing the course, organizing class notes, preparing solutions to
assignments, and other works related to mathematics. I also met with Professor
Alfredo Tan, the director of the engineering department at the university, who
was friendly and generous enough to speak with me during his busy schedule,
albeit briefly. In addition, Professor Farag allowed me to explore the various
sections and departments of the school, encouraging me to also consider careers
related to applied mathematics (such as regarding finances), instead of solely
focusing on theoretical mathematics.
The
class, for a course called “Abstract Algebra,” was very small in population, as
only five students excluding me had shown up. Professor Farag explained that
this phenomenon was due to the fact that the course was among the highest level
classes provided at the university. Nonetheless, such a small class helped me
fit in and become adjusted to the environment. I felt like an actual university
student throughout the day.
After
the course, Professor Farag provided me with space to work on my assignments regarding
class notes and solutions. Although I had a somewhat extensive knowledge of the
mathematical typing program LaTeX before I began the internship, it allowed me
to master my skills in the program. Because I had to practice typing notes
throughout the class, in the format required by LaTeX, I became fluent, to the
point where I can type in LaTeX as fast as I can type regularly. I also learned
a significant amount of abstract algebra, even though it has only been one
class so far. I discovered how college life and studies would feel, and I plan
to use these learned skills throughout both high school and beyond.
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