Thirteen Polk County Schools math teachers traded their classrooms for pickleball courts and bowling lanes on Oct. 28, combining social time with deep mathematical thinking at the inaugural Thermal Belt Math Circle event.
The gathering at Silver Spoon Saloon Entertainment Center in Mill Spring brought together elementary, middle and high school math teachers for an evening of games and collaborative problem-solving. The event was supported by a grant from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation.
Teachers challenged each other to pickleball, duckpin bowling, foosball, air hockey and basketball while also tackling complex mathematical problems designed to engage educators at all comfort levels.
Math Circles focuses on presenting “low floor, high ceiling” problems, meaning participants can engage with concepts regardless of their starting point. Western Carolina University math professor Sloan Despeaux posed a problem called Frobenius Numbers that had teachers designing fact tables, analyzing patterns and thinking through algebraic equations while determining how many ways the digits 4 and 7 can be combined.
The collaborative format allows teachers to socialize while exploring mathematical concepts in depth, building stronger connections across grade levels and schools within the district.
The Thermal Belt Math Circle plans to hold its next event in late winter or early spring.
