Month: May 2023

A design session in radical transformational leadership is a process of creating a vision for the future and then developing a plan to achieve that vision. It is a leadership program that supports learning what I deeply care about and aligning it with systems shifts and strategic action.

The Mathegramming Academy attended the session which was held on the 24^th and 26^th of May.

The design session began with a group of people coming together to share their projects. This was hosted by Dr.Sudharshan from RTL Works. This is followed by a discussion of the challenges that must be overcome to achieve these projects. Once the challenges are identified, the group works together to develop a plan of action.

The action plan should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It should also be based on the group’s values and beliefs. Once the plan is in place, the group can begin to implement it.

The design session allows the group to come together, share their ideas, and develop a plan for change. The action plan can then be used to guide the group’s efforts and help them achieve their goals.

In the session, the Mathegramming team discussed the following with the RTL works by presenting the three templates of architecture for equitable and sustainable change. Dharani from the Mathegramming team presented the templates with the inputs from the rest of the team. The templates are the Conscious full spectrum response model, Respond and realize, and Synergistic operational strategies.

• Defining the problem or opportunity. What is the issue that the group is trying to address? What are the opportunities that the group is seeking to exploit?
• Identifying the stakeholders. Who are the people who will be affected by the change? What are their needs and interests?
• Generated ideas. Made a list of possible solutions to the problem or opportunity.
• Evaluated the ideas. Assessed the feasibility and potential impact of each idea.
• Chose a course of action. Selected the best idea and develop an implementation plan.
• Implementing the plan. Putting the plan into action and monitoring its progress.
• Evaluating the results. To assess the impact of the change and make necessary adjustments.

The session was an eye-opener and paved the way to look at different and multiple perspectives of the project. It narrowed the gaps in the project. It was interesting. We thank the RTL workers for their time and feedback. We look forward to being in action.

Insights from the team:

My name is Premkumar I deeply care about courage and equality for myself and others. I was able to notice the gap in the Conscious Full Spectrum Response (CFSR) and all other templates and I am able to relate the Synergistic Operational Strategies with the Mathegramming academy. I could see that my plan and strategies were aligned well after the design session.

My name is Sivasankar. I stand for courage for myself and others.  I noticed from the design session that I need to have the relevant information needed for the project, Information like students’ progress, social media, etc.

My name is Soundhariya and I stand for courage for myself and others I learned how to reframe my CFSR sheet. I got more clarity and I got some points to insert in my project specifically about policies, schemes, and laws.

My name is Ilakya Arasi, I stand for patience and courage for myself and others.
While filling the CFSR with my team I am able to see how vast our project is. When I had filled it alone without my group my approach was only about how to teach and learn maths rather than the societal and cultural changes we wanted to achieve from the project. In SOS, I realized there are many things I need to learn and explore and there is so much to practice.

My name is Dharani. I deeply care about perseverance and equity for myself and others. I noticed the alignment between the three circles and was able to add more operating principles to the project. I gained more specificity in the action plans.

My name is Preethi and I stand for courage and kindness for myself and others. Through the design session, I have acquired the knowledge of optimizing CFSR, which will prove valuable for my upcoming projects.

Mathegramming Academy aims to build Responsibility and Rigor in children and generate Results through Online mentoring of Mathematics through projects in programming, electronics, and through leadership in action..

Teachers at STEM Land have already been using Geogebra for some demonstrations in classrooms and the Mathegramming Academy presented a session on GeoGebra that would step up their ability to interact and engage with children 12^th May 2023.

 GeoGebra is a free and open-source interactive mathematics software that allows users to create and manipulate mathematical models, graphs, and figures. GeoGebra can be used for a variety of mathematical tasks, including graphing functions, creating geometric constructions, solving equations, and performing statistical analysis.

Dharani, Soundhariya, Premkumar, Sivashankar, and Ilakyarasi from Mathegramming Academy presented the following using Geogebra.

1) Dharani presented how to create a GeoGebra activity and then a classroom for students to be able to do tasks and for the instructor to be able to observe the progress real time.  Dharani created a classroom with many activities and then one that let someone work with a GeoGebra sheet. The rest of the session was done with this classroom that allowed everyone to see the progress of individuals signed in.

2) Sivashankar presented how to create a circumcentre, circumcircle, incentre, and incircle for a triangle. To move the triangle points and see how the construction refreshes and holds. Also, to add color and character to the projects. on how to create a circumcentre, circumcircle, incentre, and incircle for a triangle.

3) Premkumar presented how to create 11³ as (10+1)³ as a 3D construction with polygon and prism extension.

4) Soundariya presented how to create interactive (and randomized) questions and answers and provide input boxes and buttons  and respond to the users inputs using the if condition.

The session was intense for 1-1/2 hrs and was enjoyable and enlightening. Here are some reflections from the attendee teachers:

 My name is Poonguzhali. I stand for care and love for myself and others. My insight is to Set aside time to work with the software regularly and challenge myself to create new and more complex models and visualizations. With time and practice, I’ll become more skilled and confident in using Geogebra to solve mathematical problems and visualize mathematical concepts.

 My name is Pratap, and I stand for happiness for myself and others. During the Geo Gerba session, I learned the importance of curiosity in acquiring knowledge from others. Supporting others not only aids in visualizing mathematical concepts but also enables the efficient completion of projects within a short timeframe. When creating classrooms, it is beneficial to identify where children are facing challenges and understand their difficulties. This allows for intervention and assistance, enabling children to progress from being dependent to interdependent to independent in their work

For completion here are instructions on how to:

Create a question for the addition of two random numbers which is refreshed by a button, has an input box to enter the result, and shows the result as a text.  

The ‘If’ Condition in Geogebra:

The ‘If’ condition is a conditional statement that allows users to perform different actions based on a particular condition. In Geogebra, the ‘If’ condition can be used to control different aspects of the construction, such as the visibility of objects or the value of variables.

Syntax:

If [condition, Then (action1), Else (action2)]

In this syntax, the ‘condition’ is the logical expression that evaluates to either true or false. If the condition is true, ‘action1’ will be performed, otherwise ‘action2’ will be performed.

For example, let’s say we want to create a construction that shows the sum of two numbers, but only if the sum is A=random between (-10, 10) and B=random between (-10, 10). We can use the ‘If’ condition to achieve this as follows:

• Create two input boxes to enter the two numbers.
• Create a button to calculate the sum.
• Create a text box to display the sum.
• Now, let’s define the actions for the button using the ‘If’ condition:

If [(c== A +B,” correct”, “no. try again)]

In this syntax, ‘A’ and ‘B’ are the names of the input boxes. If the sum of the two numbers is equal to C, then it displays the sum is correct, otherwise, it displays “no. try again” will be displayed in the text box.

Creating Buttons in Geogebra:

Geogebra allows users to create buttons that can be used to trigger different actions or functions. Buttons can be created using the ‘Button’ tool, which can be found in the ‘Input’ category of the toolbar.

~ Rajesh

We were thrilled to teach a math intuition class to students, as it was fascinating to have a sense of what the result would look like. Under the guidance of Sanjeev Anna, we focused on patterns instead of answers. He spent each morning explaining mathematical patterns, which we taught to school students in the evenings

We discovered new patterns and logic that were not taught in schools or colleges to us

Advantages of having intuition in maths:

Having intuition in math allowed us to quickly recognize patterns, leading to more efficient problem-solving. It also improved our understanding of abstract concepts and fostered creativity in problem-solving and generating new mathematical ideas.

Feedback from students who attended the classes:

Firstly, they noticed the simplicity of understanding maths with patterns.

Even complex concepts were understandable

Patterns finding reduced our school theory of memorizing maths

Telling stories and relating with real-time examples increased the logic of mathematics

~ Sanjay Tumati

I keep in touch with a few of my friends who I feel possess qualities that I would like to inculcate in my life. One of these friends is strong in his Christian faith. In a conversation to understand what a monk does to understand the spirit of doing. He said:

Monasteries are obligated to be as self-sufficient as possible for the basic necessitates. The spirit of which extends to the individual monks. They farm but they are not farmers. They makes clothes but they are not tailors. They herd but they are not herders. They may even write computer programs and debug and test them, but they are not programmers. They are spiritual scholars that happen to work with their own hands to support their vocation as monks, but they must not be distracted by the work itself.

This comment struck me very close to home because of the similarities with what we are doing in C3StreamLand. At C3Streamland, we too are self-sufficient, not only for our basic necessities but also to support a whole host of activities such as employment (we provide it), education (we provide it free of cost), Vipassana at Auroville (group sits/short courses, 10-day courses), Seminars for growth (RTL workshops), support other principled and ethical actors (Thamarai, RTLWorks, SAIIER). Indeed in this respect, perhaps, we go further than a monastery does.

Now comes to the point of being distracted by work and activity. We work for a commercial concern in Bangalore as a means to support ourselves, as well as fund our activities and the larger community in Auroville. In addition, each one of us in involved in some teaching activity or the other, be it an activity or formal classes. Further, each one us also has an accountability with regards to maintaining the Organisation as a whole à Finances (school, C3streamland), Maintenance (Internet, facilities, power) etc. Furthermore, most of us are also supporting others in their growth (organising Vipassana activities, organising RTL workshops and supporting them as PCs). 

Apart from generating a livelihood and supporting others, work and being busy with wholesome tasks is a wonderful tool to prevent me from falling into lower mental states that for me a chiefly characterized by sloth, addiction to useless information and trivia (which the internet has an unending supply of), time wasting conversations, mental brooding and so on and so forth.

The benefits of having an engaged mind during all waking hours have been spoken of by Great Men and Women down the ages. As my friend never tires of reminding me, Jesus was a fine Carpenter with a very strong work ethic. Buddha himself did not believe such a thing as R&R (rest and relaxation) since the impurities never rested, so why should purity?  Closer to time, GoenkaJi would keep busy peeling potatoes if there was nothing else to do and his wife, Mataji herself was never found idle when awake, her favourite go to activity being knitting sweaters. Mataji used to mention the importance of having a mind engaged in a wholesome (or at least not-unwholesome) pursuit at all times.

So much for the benefits of an engaged mind. Now I come to my friends’ admonition. There is a very real possibility and danger that I am getting distracted from my larger purpose in life in the rush to keep delivering on my livelihood and my support activities. There is the danger that I become so distracted by my Job performance and my various support roles, in meeting the delivery schedules and my social commitments that I forget what I really want from life in terms of my inner life. How do I forget what I really care about at a deep level? When I notice that my thoughts are mostly about what needs to be done next and what needs to be done today, when I notice that my Vipassana practice has become mechanical, when I notice that I am too tired at night time to care about any of the higher things in life that I claim to care about in daytime, when I notice that I am too tired to desire the higher mental planes that a human can access and that I wish to access.

Now that I notice it what will I do? I don’t know. For one, I have become aware of it, so that is a good thing. The next is to reflect. Clearly I am not overworked. It’s just that I am overwhelmed. I am building tension during the course of my day that leaves me detached from the higher mental planes as the daylight concludes. I no longer feel attracted to the lower mental planes during the nights as I used to, so that’s reason to rejoice. But the goal now is to cultivate the sort of mind that feels attracted to the higher mental states even as the day progresses right until the time comes for slumber.

~ Poovizhi

8th grade students in Udavi are learning pie chart. In C3STREAM land we
have a system where we enter teachers notes everyday and will receive
feedback on the same from Sanjeev at the end of the week. From his
feedback I learnt that I can ask children to draw pie chart for their
daily activity. I asked them to collect data on their daily activities
for 24 hours to create a visual representation of their time management.

Students began by recording their activities throughout the day, by
writing them down on their notebook. They then organized the data into
categories, such as sleeping, eating, studying, traveling, and leisure time.

After categorizing the data, students calculated the percentage of time
spent on each activity. They converted number of hours in degree for
each activity and plotted them in a pie chart.

Each activity was shown as a separate slice of the pie, with the size of
the slice corresponding to the time spent on that activity.

Once the pie chart was complete, students analyzed and interpreted the
data. They noticed patterns and trends in their time management, which
helped them understand their own behavior and habits better. Students were able to notice where they spend more time and realized where they need to work on.

This exercise helped 8th-grade students develop their skills in data
collection, analysis, and visualization. By engaging in this exercise,
they gained a deeper understanding of pie charts and how they can be
used to represent complex data in a simple and visual form.