Math for America

At last month’s MƒA Thursday Think speaker series, Vanessa Vakharia presented "Math Therapy: Understanding and Overcoming Math Trauma.” Known as the Lady Gaga of mathematics education, she discussed why mathematics frightens so many students and how educators can transform this fear into courage, curiosity, and even passion. She presented the 5 M’s of her “Math Therapy” framework that specifically address the dynamics of fear and how it manifests in mathematics classrooms. Watch the full talk here - https://bit.ly/3QOM67b

Join us on May 14 for “Bats and the Biodiversity Crisis: Extinction and Resilience” as Dr. Angelo Soto-Centeno explores the drivers of species loss (and survival) through the lens of bats, including habitat fragmentation, climate change, and human impact. Learn more on the MƒA website - MathforAmerica.org/events hashtag

This June, MƒA President Maria Klawe, a mathematician, computer scientist, and longtime champion for expanding access to STEM, will be one of seven to receive honorary degrees at Dartmouth. She will deliver the keynote address at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth’s 2026 Investiture Ceremony and will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Learn more at the link below.

Math for America President Maria Klawe to Deliver Dartmouth… The mathematician, computer scientist, and champion for expanding access to STEM will deliver the keynote address at Thayer School of Engineering at…

“Science requires creativity in designing experiments, and art requires creativity to develop and articulate a coherent vision.”

During a MƒA mini-course led by MƒA Master Teachers Gilbert Papagayo and Brittany Klimowicz, teachers explored bacterial transformation, protein structure, and recombinant DNA through an unexpected medium: microbial agar art. They designed their own agar art, discovered new resources, and reimagined how to make a complex topic like bacterial transformation more accessible in the classroom.

Read more in "Picassos in the Laboratory: Creating Agar Art in the Classroom” on the MƒA blog.

Picassos in the Laboratory: Creating Agar Art in the Classroom MƒA Master Teachers Gilbert Papagayo and Brittany Klimowicz invited teachers to explore bacterial transformation, protein structure, and recombinant DNA through microbial agar art.

Rebooting Tech Culture: A Fireside Chat with Telle Whitney and Maria Klawe

During an intimate conversation, senior technology leader and author Telle Whitney and MƒA President Maria Klawe reflected on leadership, organizational culture, and the responsibility institutions have to create environments where diverse talent can thrive.

In Dr. Whitney's new book, Rebooting Tech Culture, she explains that the same values at the heart of a culture of innovation—creativity, courage, confidence, curiosity, communication, and community—can also foster a culture that is welcoming to all employees. Why reboot now? Telle believes in “the power of technology and what’s possible with it.”

Watch the full talk at the link in our here. https://vimeo.com/1178952485