The document summarizes the author's experience as the coach of the MATHCOUNTS program at Peterson Middle School. It introduces the author and what MATHCOUNTS is as a non-profit organization that promotes mathematics competitions for middle school students. It then discusses why having a MATHCOUNTS program is beneficial, how the problems are different than standardized tests, and the logistics and challenges of running the after-school program at Peterson Middle School.

1. My Experience as Coach of MATHCOUNTS PROGRAM @ Peterson Middle School Pankaj Kumar

2. MATHCOUNTS @ Peterson Who Am I? What is MATHCOUNTS? Why have a MATHCOUNTS Program? How are MATHHCOUNTS problems different than, say, STAR Test problems? Logistics of Running a MATHCOUNTS Program What made it work? Challenges I faced

3. All About Me An Involved Parent My daughter is in 6 th Grade at Peterson A Software Engineer (tbp, Enterprise Architect) Work at Yahoo! An Engineering graduate B. Tech. in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur (1989) A math-o-phile Love numbers and mathematics

4. What is MATHCOUNTS ? A non-profit organization promoting mathematics among middle school students Details at http://mathcounts.org The cost of participation is nominal (less than $100) Supports MATHCOUNTS programs in schools Provides questions and instructions for volunteer coaches Conducts math competitions Competitions are held at School, Chapter, State and National level State and National winners get recognition and scholarships

5. Why MATHCOUNTS? Differentiated learning It is about problem solving Nurtures competitiveness An opportunity for students Is not Help for homework A tutoring program Competition to Soccer practice

6. How are MATHCOUNTS problems different from STAR Test? A Sample 7 th grade Problem from California Released Tests Sub division into rectangles is indicated Numbers to be multiplied are small multiple choice

7. A MATHCOUNTS problem Needs to reason that the area of the shaded region is difference of the area of small square and triangle Needs to compute height of the triangle by identifying two similar triangles

8. Logistics Announce the Program ( Sep. timeframe ) I created a program Flyer Collect Signups A class of 30 is ideal Coaching sessions Weekly sessions of 60+ minutes School level competition At the end of January Participation in Chapter level competition Top four get to participate

9. What made it work Tremendous support from School and SCUSD Administration Both Principal Mrs. Susan and GATE coordinator Mrs. Barbara were very supportive and involved School office took care of making copies of handouts Access to a classroom after school hours Yahoo! Management Allowed me to spend 2 hours every week Parent participation Parents brought refreshments Frequent e-mail communication A dedicated webpage for problems This is evolving into a real web application

10. Challenges I Faced Little interest from 7 th and 8 th graders Still puzzles me Culture Shock Why be smart if it is not COOL Mechanics of paying the registration fee Learning how to work with beurocracy (Un)suitability of the MATHCOUNTS problems I ended up designing my own problems

11. Thank you!