This is the first project of this type at the national level in South America that carried over from the Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Day. (Photo: ISAM/Courtesy of the South American Division]

South America

In Argentina, the Mathematical Olympics of Adventist Educational Institutions began

The project, organized by the mathematics faculty of the Adventist Higher Institute of Misiones, had a participation that exceeded a thousand students representing 36 middle-level institutes from all over the country.

Argentina | Alexis Villar

A few days before the beginning of the first stage (there are three in total), you can already see some clear actions of what students are capable of doing when they have a common goal. And it is that the challenge of participating in the Mathematical Olympics of Adventist Educational Institutions (OMIEA) is nothing other than putting into practice creativity and confidence in the students' own abilities to solve mathematical problems that, in short, opens the door to discovery, curiosity and the challenge presented by each problem to be solved.

The OMIEA project, sponsored by the education department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina and organized by the mathematics faculty of the Higher Adventist Institute of Missions (ISAM), has the objective of improving the study of mathematics, offering a space for the development of the mind and the ability to solve problems, stimulate the participation of Adventist secondary school students in the Olympics proposed by national entities, and generate spaces for exchange between ISAM faculty students and Adventist secondary schools in Argentina.

The Rector of ISAM, Lic. Leonardo Bertagni considers that the Mathematics Olympics "are a true opportunity to present the didactics of mathematics from a new place, bringing the discipline closer to everyday reality through the formulation of problems, seeking a greater development of logical thinking, prioritizing a millenary discipline that unjustifiably failed to have the best press ”.

“We seek that our students would be thinkers and not mere reflectors of the thoughts of others, so we aim that they not only know how to apply formulas or arrive at the correct result, but also [know how to] establish a logical strategy that allows them to apply their mathematical knowledge in problematic situations of the daily life ”, says Lic. Ercilia Vattimo, Pedagogical Coordinator of the Educational Area of ​​the Adventist Church in Argentina and a member of the organizing committee of the Olympics.

It is the first project of its type run at the national level in South America, carried out by the Adventist Church, and which managed to have a record enrollment of more than a thousand students who, grouped by two, for the most part, represent 36 middle-level institutes of the whole country.

How it unfolds

The project has three different stages of evaluation that are given online, through the ISAM educational platform. In each round, three math problems are solved. To proceed to the next round, a score of two points must be obtained. In addition, students are informed of the day and time of each of the rounds, having to take them to the school where they are accompanied by the tutor teacher. Each school will connect through Zoom to visualize the couples and share their work with the organizers.

After each round, the organizers will correct each shipment and make the pertinent returns, within the following three weeks. Each teacher will be informed of the pairs that have passed to the next round. The correction will be made by a team of ISAM teachers and will be reviewed by a teacher from a field other than the one the couple belongs to.

“At the end of the three rounds, the winners of the Olympics will be determined. All those who obtain three points in the last round will be considered winners and therefore will receive a medal that accredits it ”, highlights Prof. Eduardo Valentini, Leader of the Education area of ​​the Adventist Church in Argentina.

Meet the ISAM Secondary Education Mathematics Teachers

As a graduate of the Prof. of Secondary Education in Mathematics you will be able to:

  • Exercise your profession with high ethical awareness and responsibility towards your neighbor and God, with comprehensive training based on Christian and moral values ​​that enable you to adapt to the environment in which you must practice your profession and face life with a prospective vision of permanent improvement.
  • Plan, conduct, and evaluate teaching and learning processes in the area of ​​mathematics in the different modalities of secondary education.
  • Design, participate, carry out and promote research on teaching practice, having a theoretical foundation and a critical and reflective attitude to the development of mathematics teaching.
  • Receive advice on methodological, pedagogical, and technical aspects of the teaching of mathematics.
  • Integrate interdisciplinary teams destined to plan, direct and evaluate intra-institutional educational projects that involve mathematics.
  • Integrate inter-institutional work teams in teacher training, in which you fulfill the role of guidance teacher, providing pedagogical and technical advice in the area of ​​mathematics.

For questions or suggestions, contact WhatsApp +54 9 3754 50 7373 or by email: 

[email protected]

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site

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