Links: This other math project, some theory of numbers project, a sodium distributed information project, an ocean epipelargosy, and the nexus how-to.
The other math club began at a middle school in 2017 as an exploration of interesting ideas intended for 11-to-13-year-old students. After two years it transformed into more computer programming emphasis, becoming "Python Bytes". As of 2024 Python Bytes continues...
The biggest hurdle this project faces is that the club meets once per week (with skips when the school calendar interferes) and the participants are not "on the hook" to deliver the results of their own effort. It is, after all, intended as a club.
The motivating concepts have evolved and are encapsulated in this little diagram.
In translation: We begin with ideas rather than Python syntax. We think about those ideas and arrive eventually at a calculation; and this is then translated to code. Once the code is written: We hope to experiment with it. In a perfect world this provides some insight into the original idea.
Meanwhile we do learn Python syntax along the way; and we also practice communicating our ideas, comprehensions and questions about the subject matter. Finally the students are on their way to meet a peculiar and interesting world out there; so we emphasize the importance of having support at home.
