Between 2020 - 2022, the Math Catcher Outreach Program held three Annual Math Catcher Festivals that engaged Grade 4-5 teachers and their students from across British Columbia in a series of activities.

Two short articles about the Festival are accessible here: 

• Jungić, V., Math Catcher Festival, CMS Notes, Vol. 53, no. 2, March 2021
• Galligos, T., Jungic, V., Math Catcher Festival: Learning Math through Storytelling, BCTF Teacher Magazine, Volume 33, Number 2, p. 27, November/December 2020

WHAT: The Math Catcher Festival was a celebration of students' imagination and creativity and their knowledge of mathematics and Indigenous cultures and traditions.

The Festival and associated activities were based on the belief that storytelling, accompanied by pictures and open-ended questions, helps students experience mathematics in action and encourages young people to enjoy math. This belief is one of the pillars of the Math Catcher Outreach Program and it is the central piece of each story and animated film in the Small Number series.

This initiative was inspired by the teaching practices of Ms. Alana Underwood, an elementary school teacher from Coquitlam, BC. Alana describes her practices in an article that is available here. 

WHY: The Small Number films incorporate problem-solving and Indigenous traditions into three to four-minute-long animated stories. Small Number is a young Indigenous boy who has an impressive aptitude for mathematics – and also a proclivity for getting into trouble.

Just as importantly, the stories aim to promote Indigenous culture. Of course, Indigenous culture is not a singular, cohesive set of beliefs and practices, but a myriad of traditional and modern values and practices. As a result, Small Number’s adventures take place in different physical contexts in different Indigenous communities, and yet the clever, playful protagonist remains the same. 

WHO: We inviteed Grade 4-5 students to create their own Small Number stories and present them in the format of their choice: a picture book; a comic; a video; a powerpoint presentation with a voice over; a play; a poster; a computer game; or any other way or medium that fits their ideas.

The creation were produced by an individual student or a group of students. We were looking for short stories which demonstrate the following:

• that mathematics is applicable in real life;
• that young people like Small Number encounter mathematics and require knowledge of it on a daily basis;
• that mathematics can be interesting;
• that mathematics can be used to solve real-life problems. 

The stories were expected to be playful and promote kin and friendship in Indigenous settings.

WHEN/WHERE/WHAT: The Festival was held virtually through Zoom. 

The main goal of the Festival was to showcase student-created Small Number stories. The Festival also included a number of activities, such as:

• mathematical demonstrations;
• presentations of the different Small Number films;
• and virtual group and individual activities with members of the SFU Indigenous community.

All participants received a Math Catcher Festival certificate.

A selection of the admitted stories has been posted on the Math Catcher website.

For any additional information, please contact Veselin Jungic at math_catcher@sfu.ca.

Examples

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:

• Pam Borghardt, Math Catcher Outreach Program Communications, SFU
  
• Terri Galligos, Resource Teacher, Indigenous Education, SD 43 Coquitlam
  
• Pamela Hagen, Teacher (Retired), SD 43 Coquitlam
  
• Veselin Jungic, Teaching Professor and Math Catcher Outreach Coordinator, SFU
  
• Noreen Pankewich, Teacher (Retired), SD 73 Kamloops
  
• Jennifer Whiffin, Numeracy Coordinator, SD 43 Coquitlam