The CCGA mathematics department has an active outreach agenda to increase the level of mathematical skill and improve societal perception in regards to mathematics.  Our outreach efforts are widest in Glynn County where we have developed a partnership with the Glynn County School System and are active members of their K-College mathematics vertical alignment group.  However, we have a number of activities that reach Camden County, McIntosh County, as well as the other surrounding counties:  Brantley, Charlton, Ware, and Wayne.

Coastal Scholars at CCGA

CCGA has a “Coastal Scholars” program, organized by Political Science professor Dr. Tony Wege, which allows CCGA faculty to share their research and discipline with the CCGA community.  Dr. Laura Lynch gave a presentation in fall 2014 on “Saving the World with Mathematics” that showcased several life-changing mathematical concepts.  Dr. Gracia Toubia-Stucky gave a presentation in fall 2012 entitled “Storytelling and Statistics” which discussed certain fallacies.

Service-Learning in Glynn and Camden Counties

Service-Learning (SL) is a focal point at CCGA and several members of the mathematics department have embraced this learning mechanism in CCGA classes.   Service-Learning is a teaching methodology that has students serving the community in a capacity that strengthens and applies classroom learning.

Dr. Laura Lynch has incorporated SL into MATH1111 College Algebra and MATH3010 History of Math that brings CCGA students into the local K-12 classroom to tutor K-12 students that have fallen behind in the curriculum.  This forces College Algebra students to reinforce the background knowledge necessary to understand concepts of College Algebra and allows History of Mathematics students to gain perspective on mathematics education today and, specifically, how we teach mathematical concepts today compared to how they were originally interpreted.  In fall 2014, Dr. Lynch will also be incorporating SL into MATH1001 Quantitative Reasoning.  Those students will work with area middle schoolers through the Boys & Girls Club afterschool program to discover the mathematics behind Fantasy Football while running a Fantasy Football League and competition.

Dr. Gracia Toubia-Stucky has worked with a large number of community partners to bring her MATH2112 Probability and Statistics students into the real world for applications of Statistics.  She has worked with the Glynn Art Association, the Fort Frederica National Monument program, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the International Seafarers Center having her students conduct statistical studies and analyses for these organizations.

Mr. Treg Thompson has incorporated SL into MATH1113 Precalculus.  In fall 2013, the precalculus students took a number of mathematics related projects and turned them into a portable math demonstration cart with step-by-step directions for high school teachers to use as lesson plans.  This is an ongoing project for future precalculus classes.   When complete, the cart will be able to tour high schools and STEM festivals. Future classes will have the responsibility of scheduling tour dates and updating/maintaining the cart.

Robotics in Glynn County

Starting from a Service-Learning course in the History of Mathematics and a CCGA mini-grant written by Dr. Laura Lynch and then math major Robert Chastain, CCGA math majors have been sharing robotics with local high schoolers at the Elizabeth Correll Teen Center each spring.  Dr. German Vargas and Dr. Laura Lynch teamed up with the Boys & Girls Club (who oversees the Teen Center) to write a grant that provided 6 Lego Mindstorms Robotics Kits (in addition to the 2 robotics kits given to the Teen Center from the SL mini-grant) and a 10-week robotics course for the Teen Center patrons.  Now, Dr. Vargas works with our math majors each spring to continue to provide the robotics course and a love for mathematics, science, and engineering to the Teen Center.

Expanding Your Horizons in Glynn County

Each fall, the Glynn County School System partners with CCGA to host “Expanding Your Horizons” (EYH), an event geared toward 4 – 8^th grade girls to introduce them to interesting and unique topics in mathematics and science.  Dr. Laura Lynch, Ms. Sheila Ledford, and Ms. Canady participate each year to teach a group of girls about Platonic Solids and modular origami via “The Geometry Jumble.”  Mr. Treg Thompson also presents at EYH to teach the girls about string art and patterns based on mathematical principles.

Regional Math and Sciences Expo

Since 2013, the CCGA School of Arts & Sciences hosts a Math and Sciences Expo for the Southeast Georgia region.  The expo brings middle and high school students from Glynn, Camden, Charlton, McIntosh, Brantley, Wayne, and Ware counties either to participate in activities to improve their math/science knowledge or to compete in bowl competitions that test their math/science knowledge.  In our department,

Dr. German Vargas and Mr. Treg Thompson run activities for students.  Dr. German Vargas hosts a Robotics Competition that teaches students the basics of robotics and then lets them compete against each other.  Mr. Treg Thompson leads an activity entitled “Distance through the ages” that looks at how we have historically approximated large distances (like the height of a mountain!).  Dr. German Vargas is also in charge of organizing all of the activities.

Dr. Laura Lynch chairs the Academic Bowl committee that, with the assistance of Dr. Jose Lugo, Ms. Sheila Ledford, and Ms. Melissa Canady, provides both a Middle School level and High School level buzzer competition for teams of 3 – 4.

The Math and Sciences Expo replaced the Southeast Georgia Science Fair in 2013.

SAT Prep in McIntosh County

Our newest outreach endeavor is an SAT prep course, organized by Dr. Laura Lynch and Dr. Victor Vega for McIntosh County.   This free prep course consists of four 3-hour Saturday Sessions at McIntosh County Academy, which allow the high schoolers to review mathematical content and master test-taking techniques. These highly interactive sessions are also supported by CCGA students Kevin Ford and Brad Holloway from the Math and Engineering Club.

Many of our outreach endeavors have made it into the News.