Grants for Math and Music and History and More!

By Richard Seitz
October 3, 2017

Father Stanley Bezuszka from Boston had long held his interest in the history of mathematics – ever present in his writings and in his presentations. He also encouraged his students and fellow teachers to share the fun of the history of mathematicians from the past. His colleague, Margaret J. (Peg) Kenney was an outstanding teacher, a strong leader for many professional organizations, a mentor for hundreds of classroom teachers, and an advocate for including discrete mathematics in the mathematics curriculum.

The NCTM MET board is proud to announce a new version of the History of Math grant that now includes History, Number Theory, and Discrete Mathematics! Mathematics. The purposes of this scholarship is to provide financial support for (1) completing credited course work or designing and implementing a personal study plan in one of the following areas: some aspect of the history of mathematics, number theory, or discrete mathematics, (2) creating and field-testing appropriate classroom activities incorporating the history of mathematics, number theory, or discrete mathematics into the curriculum and (3) preparing and delivering a professional development presentation to colleagues. For 2018-19, a scholarship with a maximum of $3,000 will be awarded to an individual currently teaching mathematics at the grades 6-12 level. The deadline for this grant application is May 4, 2018.

A grant with a closer deadline of November 3, 2017 is the Connecting Mathematics to Other Subject Areas Grants (9-12) which is supported by the Theoni Pappas Fund. If you are looking for inspiration and support for showing how mathematics can be applied, this grant is for you. I’d also suggest that you look at the many books and calendars that Theoni has written to see how she has illuminated the many applications of mathematics. Look for the legacy article in the October 4th issue of the NCTM Summing Up on Theoni Pappas’ writings and contributions to mathematics.

One of my favorite mathematics educators was the elementary teacher Esther Mendlesohn, who was also an acclaimed musician. You can find her story on the NCTM web. And if that isn’t enough, you can also find the Using Music to Teach Mathematics Grants supported by the Esther Mendlesohn Fund. The purpose of this grant is to incorporate music into the elementary school classroom to help young students learn mathematics. For 2018-19, grants with a maximum of $3,000 each will be awarded to persons currently teaching mathematics in grades Pre-K-2 level. This award is for individual classroom teachers or small groups of teachers collaborating in one grade or across grade levels.

Esther Mendlesohn was an inspiration to teachers through her creative use of music to teach elementary school mathematics. Gifts to the Esther Mendlesohn Fund support grants for teachers currently working in grades Pre-K-2 for projects and activities that use music to teach mathematical skills and concepts!

Music, Math, History, Connections – inspirational options for mathematics educators looking to excite their students even more! Come visit us at nctm.org/MET/ .