INSTEAD of just opening their math books, students should get out of their classrooms and learn about numbers by designing and building their own playground.
This idea, which later became a full-blown proposal, won Saipan International School teacher Mark D. Udstuen a $9,800 grant award from Toyota and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics last month.
The 27-year-old Udstuen, who is also SIS’s assistant principal, was one of the 35 teachers who received the 2002 Toyota Time grant award for excellence and innovation in mathematics education for his community building project.
More than 800 teachers from all over the United States submitted grant applications. When Udstuen was presented with the award last month in Las Vegas he was both nervous and proud.
“This was a lot bigger deal than I thought it was going to be…. There were thousands and thousands of people. It’s always funny when teachers get so nervous talking in front of other adults. But at the same time I was so proud that we got a grant that will help provide a way to get our 6th and 8th graders involved in math in a realistic setting or doing something that’s not just normal problem solving out of math books but actually applying it to a real project,” Udstuen said.
A small group of students who are now in the “construction class” have started brainstorming on the structure of the playground that will be built on the school premises in As Lito, he said. They expect to finish the project by the end of the next school year.
Udstuen said they will get as many middle school students, parents and community members involved in the project.
“The kids will sketch out the kind of playground they like and then they will work with the company to purchase construction materials. Then the students along with some of their parents who are in the construction and engineering fields will build it together, making it the best playground for elementary kids,” he said.
Cooking up this idea was an easy task for Udstuen. Most, if not all teachers, he said, have such creativity. Unfortunately, he said not all ideas materialize when there is not enough money.
