Nathan Gibson was in fourth grade when he realized something shocking. Math is fun.
It happened when he started studying the oft-dreaded multiplication table. “I realized pretty quickly that you don't actually memorize it,” Gibson said. “There's a trick to it. You just count by seven or count by eight. That got me thinking of math as more of a game than a chore."
Gibson, the associate head of OSU’s Department of Mathematics, wants children everywhere to realize math is fun – with a little help from their friends.
He started forming “math circles” at Corvallis public schools in 2023. Groups of five to 15 students get together weekly after school to enjoy the company of numbers and each other. Mathematics faculty members and students help guide the groups.
The groups attract more than kids who are into math, Gibson said.
"Math circles are for kids who like math and for kids who want to like math, so it's possible that they just don't like the math they're doing in classes, and they'll enjoy this more,” he said.
Graduate student Sarah Alberson wishes there had been a math circle when she was a kid. “I loved doing math, and I would have loved to join a club where we work through problems together.”
Students tackle assorted math problems, but not exactly the way they’re tackled in traditional math classes. “The types of problems we do are more fun and more approachable than the types of problems they're forced to learn because that's just what their grade level says they're supposed to know,” Gibson said.
