May 26, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

Nate Pinsky ’13 and Elly Schofield ’13 taught math to 23 third graders from Chaparral Elementary School in Claremont, Calif., for several weeks this spring, culminating in a trip to the Harvey Mudd College campus in May.

“I think exploring what it’s like to be a teacher in a classroom is really valuable,” says Schofield of her experience. “It is really amazing to see the look on kids’ faces when they get a concept. It is very rewarding.”

Pinsky and Schofield decided to design an independent study project around the need to improve mathematics literacy of elementary school students. With the help of Advisor and Mathematics Professor Michael Orrison, Pinsky and Schofield teamed up to develop five interactive lessons of educationally enriching (and fun!) activities to get third graders excited about learning math.

 “Since I’ve gone to Mudd, I’ve found myself more and more interested in elementary math education,” says Pinsky. During their first year at HMC, both students became interested in math education while working at Homework Hotline, a call-in tutoring service that helps elementary and middle school students with math and science homework.

This May, to encourage their interest in science, math and engineering, Chaparral third graders toured the HMC campus led by Pinsky, Schofield and other HMC students. The third graders were able to participate in a hands-on experiment in the chemistry lab and visit the rocket and computer science labs. Pinsky and Schofield hope to expand their project with elementary school students in the coming years.

Third graders from Chaparral Elementary School tour the HMC campus with Elly Schofield ’13 and Nate Pinsky ’13.	Third grade students visit the HMC rocket lab.