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Nonactuarial Pursuits of Casualty Actuaries
Overcoming Students' Math Anxiety
by Marty AdlerYou have probably readabout the high level of innumeracy among Americans and the frustrating fact that it typically starts during early education. According to the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 25 percent of the nation's 4th- and 5th-graders are performing at or above proficient levels in math. Some good news is that The Actuarial Foundation, which many of us support financially, is working to improve this.
The Foundation runs a program called "Advancing Student Achievement," which brings actuaries and educators together in voluntary partnerships to enhance student mathematics achievement. Each year The Actuarial Foundation hosts an exhibit booth at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. When a local actuarial club shows interest in the program, the Foundation sends mailings to schools in the area. The Actuarial Foundation also promotes the program through its Web site, www.actuarialfoundation.org. As of August 2003, 305 actuaries have volunteered or are currently volunteering in school programs. At least 26 were Fellows or Associates of the CAS, and a number of actuarial students and other volunteers from local insurance companies joined them. Interested schools send proposals to the foundation for review by the Foundation's Committee for Student Achievement. If the Foundation finds a proposal acceptable, it will contact local clubs and actuaries to find volunteers. The Foundation provides monetary grants to approved programs when actuaries are involved.
One such grant is having an impact in the greater Phoenix/Scottsdale metropolitan area. Working with the teachers at Arrowhead Elementary School, Ken Levine has organized about 20-30 actuaries and Ken's wife, Sarah, a former part-time teacher, who volunteer to support monthly "Math Academies" at the school. The Math Academies are themed, four-hour programs designed to be active and entertaining, and help the students see how math is used in the real world. One month the "Math of Sports" helped the students learn the relevance of math for timing, statistics, and predicting. In another month, the "Math of Shopping and Budgeting" taught students about the value of money and opportunity cost. Perhaps the most popular theme, the "Math of Restaurants," not only taught about maximizing and optimizing the use of space, but also included some wonderful treats prepared by special guest Chef Tony.
In the classroom, the actuarial volunteers have a genuine chance to influence the math knowledge and self-esteem of the students. The enthusiasm and love for math that the actuaries bring rubs off onto the children, who see that math can be fun. Then the children approach their math lessons with a positive attitude that makes them better students. In this way the impact of the volunteers extends far beyond four hours in the classroom each month.
The Math Academies, in combination with other programs at Arrowhead, are making a difference. For evidence, one can just look at the second grade, which has made significant progress in its scores on the math portion of the SAT-9 test. It has climbed from a scaled score of 575 in 2001 to 582 in 2002 to 612 in 2003, when it ranked 16th in the Phoenix Valley among all grade levels. Math Specialist Kimberly Rimbey says that their district alone has 175 grade levels and there are more than 100 districts in the Valley. Ms. Rimbey says that it is difficult to distinguish which of many favorable factors came into play, but that all had an impact in creating confident, knowledgeable students.
Another volunteer tutor, Andy Doll in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, learned about the program at the Actuarial Foundation's annual Clambake. The Clambake is the major fundraising activity for the Foundation, with the proceeds used for the various programs it sponsors. The Clambake includes a half-day meeting with industry speakers, golf, dinner, and an auction. Impressed by what he learned, Andy told his wife that he wanted to participate. Then, at a middle school SCO (PTA) meeting attended by Andy's wife, a seventh grade math teacher requested classroom assistance. They created a successful pilot project for the fourth quarter last year, which established a base to continue the program this year.
The program has three main components: before-school individual math homework assistance, classroom monitoring, and an after-school math club. Andy, four other CAS Fellows, and three actuarial students attend these activities weekly, choosing the area that best balances the volunteer's strengths with the needs of the teacher. Each volunteer tries to stay with the same class in order to become familiar with the students.
The volunteers show students how to apply math to everyday life, and more important, give each student a better understanding and appreciation for math. By providing one-on-one tutoring or in-room attention, the children feel they have someone willing to help them succeed in a subject that for many is quite challenging. As the teacher can give limited attention to each student, the mentors supplement that role and make the classes go more smoothly.
Andy recalls an example from last year where groups of students were asked to pick something from the textbook that they had not covered in class, and then teach that concept to their peers. One group was working on dissecting polygons into triangles from a corner of the polygon. Andy explained that there was a formula that could be used to identify how many triangles and diagonals there were, based on the number of sides of the polygon. The group used the formulas in their presentation to the class.
The math club activities cover a wide spectrum, from the fun to the practical. In one exercise they went bowling, but the seventh graders had to score manually. A field trip to the mall focused on budgeting for purchases and seeing how sales tax affected the cost. This year the students will be given the opportunity to develop a business plan. They will be given $50 as initial capital (to be returned), but will be able to keep any profits. The program absorbs any losses.
The reward for the volunteers is in the progress and the appreciation the students show. At the end of one Math Academy, a student came over to hug one of the volunteers. The volunteer later told Ken Levine, "What a wonderful way to capture the spirit of the program, with a hug from a child." Andy Doll says, "To see their faces and hear them proclaim, `I get it. That's cool.' is the type of satisfaction that makes the program successful."
Learn More About Advancing Student Achievement...
To volunteer as a mentor in the Advancing Student Achievement program or to learn how to submit a proposal to bring the program to your community's school, contact Eileen C. Streu, Director, The Actuarial Foundation at 847-706-3557 or by e-mail at eileen.streu@actfnd.org.
