Math Buddies spend two and a half hours per day, three times per week, in schools, working with 4 separate groupings of four children in each 30 minute tutoring block. The in-school program is complementary to the regular math curriculum, but provides opportunity to regularly conduct error analyses of student work, to “debug” student errors, to address conceptual misunderstandings, and to teach new math skills and concepts in a constructivist way. Enactive learning a la Bruner – learning through the use of math manipulatives such as the Cuisenaire Rods and base ten blocks is fundamental to the work in the Math Buddy program.

The Math Buddy programs are staffed by graduate students from the Mathematics Education department at Teachers College, and/or by graduate students from other departments at the College, who have demonstrated an advanced knowledge of mathematics and mathematical thinking and an interest in understanding the importance of metacognitive processes in mathematical problem solving among young mathematicians, who have not had the opportunity to develop or demonstrate their mathematical abilities.

The Math Buddy program is supervised by Dr. Dawn Arno, the Director of the TC EdZone Partnership project at Teachers College.

The Saturday Mathematics and Art program is a Supplementary Education Program (SEP) designed to provide deliberate opportunities for 3rd and 4th grade students from schools in the TC EdZone region, to pursue the study of geometry at an early age. The program is designed to promote the use of metacognitive processes in mathematical problem solving among young mathematicians, who might otherwise not have the opportunity to develop their critical thinking abilities to the fullest potential.

The study of geometry is particularly suited to facilitate the development of metacognitive processes, and allows children to have conversations with themselves about their own thinking and learning, which is a necessary step to deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. For example, discussion of the relationship between the radius and the circumference of a circle flows naturally after these 3rd and 4th graders experienced constructing circles with their compasses.

The Saturday Art Buddy program is a complement to the Saturday Math Buddy programs. The Saturday Art Buddy program offers instruction in ceramics and sculpture and is staffed by graduate students in the Teachers College’s Art Department.

The Art Buddy program is supervised by Dr. Judith Burton chair of the Teachers College Art Department.

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