ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Out of the 60 nations whose students took the Program for International Student Assessment in 2012 and 2015 U.S. students in 2015 ranked 35th in math, a drop from 28th in 2012. Math anxiety and a lack of interest in math among young learners is commonly recognized as a problem in American education that we’re struggling to solve.
Enter ThinkFun’s Math Dice, and Math Dice Tournaments. In the words of one Arlington County Schools student at the 2016 annual tournament, “It’s like, a fun way to do math…I’d much rather learn my exponents doing math dice. It’s a lot easier, and much funner.” (See more from the 2016 tournament here!)
ThinkFun will be participating as a program collaborator in the 2017 National Math Festival, on April 22nd, held by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), the Institute for Advanced Study and the National Museum of Mathematics at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In addition to hosting a space filled with a selection of the company’s many fun and engaging math games, ThinkFun will be working with local teachers to hold a Math Dice Tournament at the festival.
Every year almost two dozen schools from Arlington County, Virginia, host a Math Dice Tournament, after many months of using Math Dice in the classroom as an instructional tool. Christine Hufnagel, the Arlington Public Schools Elementary Math Specialist, said of Math Dice at the 2016 tournament; “A lot of our standards are around fact fluency, the kids learning their addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts…but this is a really fun way to do that…it gives the kids the opportunity and incentive to learn their facts really well in a game environment, so they don’t even realize sometimes how much they’re learning when they’re playing, which is awesome.”
ThinkFun will be joined at the National Math Festival by Mary Cay Ricci, an author and educator known for her book, “Mindsets in the Classroom,” where she detailed a “growth mindset” approach to learning that she implemented in Montgomery County Schools. This approach resulted in improved reasoning scores from students who spent time playing ThinkFun’s games while using a growth mindset approach. The “growth mindset” comes from renowned researcher and Professor of Psychology Carol Dweck.
At the National Math Festival, ThinkFun will be collaborating with other organizations and individuals who are as dedicated to the value of play-based learning as it is, and is excited to bring the fun of a Math Dice Tournament to any young learners who want to participate.
About the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) is one of the world’s preeminent centers for collaborative research in mathematics. Located in Berkeley, California, MSRI’s mission is to advance mathematical research, foster talent, and further the appreciation of mathematics. MSRI strives to make mathematics accessible and exciting to those outside the field through the National Math Festival, sponsorship of Numberphile (YouTube’s most popular informal mathematics channel, with over 1.9 million subscribers), film production for public television, and the Mathical Book Prize. MSRI has created a national Math Circles movement of small organizations teaching and engaging children in math as a hobby.
About ThinkFun Inc.
For over 30 years, ThinkFun Inc. has been dedicated to creating games that spark curiosity, cultivate confidence, and nurture life-long learners. Its games encourage interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM), while generating excitement for a world of learning through play. Innovation, creativity, value, and fun are the four elements that comprise the development of every game. Ignite the mind, and change the world for each player.
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/86695795-0463-4ae7-9abc-5edc6e7ef5a5