Date posted: 04/12/2007*

A key component to Raytheon’s MathMovesU program is the annual distribution of $1 million in scholarships and grants to students and teachers. Every year a number of middle school teachers nationwide receive Math Heroes awards for their dedication to improving math education. Each teacher receives $2,500 personally, plus an additional grant of $2,500 is sent to their school. Teachers are nominated for Math Hero awards by their students, parents and other teachers.

Raytheon recently caught up with two such recipients to learn how they applied their grants to further stimulate interest in math among their students.

Mandy Goddard – Coppell Middle School East, Coppell, Texas
For Mandy Goddard, a middle school math teacher in Coppell, Texas, her love for math education isn’t restricted to her day job. Goddard also coaches local MATHCOUNTS® competitions, and not so long ago, was even a contestant herself. Goddard, who learned about the program while visiting a MathMovesU booth in early 2006, was actually nominated for a Math Heroes award by parents of a MATHCOUNTS student she coaches.

At Goddard’s urging, the school used its $2,500 grant to buy graphing calculators, so the students can perform a multitude of new math functions. Goddard, who is currently taking courses toward a master’s degree in education administration, used her personal grant money to help pay for her classes.

Goddard recognizes the challenges of teaching math to middle school students. To engage her students in math, she uses hands-on activities, online exercises, and real-life experiences and data in her teaching.

“Math problems have to be conveyed in a way that the student does not feel overwhelmed and will be just as interesting as their other after-school activities,” she said. During her recent pregnancy, for example, Goddard shared all the mathematical elements connected to an ultrasound of her baby. She also uses football statistics to engage her students in probability during the football season.

Judy Murphy – Burncoat Middle School, Worcester, Mass.
As a department head and math teacher at Burncoat Middle School in Worcester, Mass., Judy Murphy is always looking for ways to improve the way math is taught to students. That’s why she was excited to take advantage of Raytheon’s MathMovesU program.

Upon her selection as a Math Hero, Murphy and her school used the $2,500 grant in a number of creative ways. For starters, the school purchased a laptop and a projector to provide a valuable Internet connection in the classroom, giving Murphy and her staff access to a host of new and exciting math concepts. With the remaining money, they bought calculators and other materials for the school’s new math curriculum.

To help her students understand math, Murphy tries to personalize the material, connecting it to what’s familiar in their lives. When discussing percentages, for example, she might relate the numbers to shopping for the latest fashion in jeans or sneakers.

“Children struggle with the non-active part of math,” said Murphy. “While they’re in the listening mode, the material has to be focused on interesting topics or connecting to their life.” 

An Ongoing Mission
Launched in 2005, Raytheon’s MathMovesU initiative continues to “elevate math to cool” by combining middle school students’ interest in celebrities with grant money, awards and an interactive website. Keeping students engaged in math increases the chances they might one day become engineers, scientists, math teachers or even NASA astronauts. Now, thanks to teachers like Goddard and Murphy, that mission is on its way to being reached.

Learn more about MathMovesU. 


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